A Tale Of Two Families
by mastertkw
Summary: GALEX Post S3-fic, Gene struggles getting over the past, Alex arrives to help, but one sinister force is preventing it.. Gene has to lead his new team to solve a family massacre... CHAPTER 19 UPDATED, Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new work by me, after Infiltration, it's set in the post Series 3, please read and review!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Ashes to Ashes except the characters I create.

A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 1

"Is there life on Mars…."

"Bugger! Why are they playing that on the damn radio again!" Gene was sitting alone in his office, with his cup of new whisky on the desk, watching over his new team.

His new DI a man who had a funny name of Drew Jensen, Danish blood, a bit suave and charming, playful at times but has a funny Scandinavian Londoner accent which would make Chris and Ray cringe with jokes.

After knowing DI Jensen was one of those Danish immigrants, Gene proceeded to call him Danny Boy. But what an awful name it is compared to Bollyknickers, he thought again.

"_Everybody's got to learn sometime….." _The Korgis were at it again...

Gene suddenly felt that this song somehow represented his story, everybody's got to learn that they're not alive but dead and that they had to bloody move on.

He also had a few other new team members, DC Katherine "Kate" Hill, a bit of Shaz and Alex combined, but an inexperienced lady copper. Another DS, this time in the form of Benny Delgado, a latin chauvinistic copper whose violent methods, well sort of mirrored Raymondo's. This whole team was noticeably more experienced, street-smart and clever in many different ways.

However Gene still missed his old crew, this was an unprecedented move of him to send four souls up to the pub heaven. Sam and Annie were two people that had qualified way earlier to go up. But Ray and Chris needed more time, especially when both of them made mistakes that made Gene hell angry.

But yes he missed them, as much as he hated to say he was a nostalgic prick, he really missed them.

"_I need your loving like the sunshine…."_Especially DI Alexandra Drake.

Gene Hunt, for all his years as a Guide, never encountered such a feisty posh tart who dared to stand up to him. Yes, all those 3 years of adventure and tension ended with a kiss. But was he satisfied, "Bloody Yes!" He would swear, but yet again in his heart, the cracks still remained. The fact that he still kept his 6620 badge from Alex firmly in his pocket and kept her flat intact was a huge sign that he definitely missed her more than he ever missed Sam bloody Tyler.

"Don't I mean nothing to you!" Alex's chilling cry still gave him the headaches, like a call of arms to the already dead tired soldier, like a haunting ghost lingering in the air. It was definitely something you really hated to hear. Even Alex's parting kiss was something too bittersweet to dispel that desperate cry.

"You going to The Londoner's Arms, Guv!" It was Benny Delgado, a man known as Big Ben to most of the gang. Delgado was a tough guy, but compared to Ray, he had little of Raymondo's chauvinistic humour, much less the camaraderie between him and the Guv.

"I'm going home, Ben." Gene snarled as he took his coat away, he still couldn't bear to have a drink at the new Pub with his team. When Sam was gone, at least he could still drink with Raymondo and Chris. But now, he just wanted some peace.

"I prefer you address me as Benito, Sir." Gene couldn't care much about that, though he understood why, Ben wasn't really a good name in his idea.

"You really not going to the Pub, Guv?" DI Jensen had got on well with his comrades. Previously, it seemed like he was one of those police officer souls who might clash everyday with the rest of his colleagues like Sam bloody Tyler. He turned out to be a bit like Alex Drake instead.

"No DI Jenny Danny, I decide that I should be going home today, because I need a break from damn bloody alcohol!" What made this funny was Gene immediately took a huge gulp from the whisky bottle which led to DC Hill to smirk along with the rest of the team.

He marched out of his office, he didn't feel much home about it anymore. Bloody Jimbo Keats was once right when he said this place defines him. But now, this place definitely didn't define him at all. It became a very strange place, just like how he felt in Manchester 1980.

"Boy I miss the good old days…" growled Gene as he took his first step to the journey back to his apartment. Drew was making a funny impersonation of Stevie Wonder's voice, while Kat \was chuckling away while Benito managing a slight smirk as they too walked out of the office.

"_Luigi's?"_

"_Nah, Shaz wants to watch Fame…"_

"_You can't be serious…."_

"_I do like to have a drink too, Chris."_

"_Alright, you two, this is the workplace still!"_

In his eyes, he could only see Chris and Ray discussing on which place to go to spend the night with a watchful eye and reminder from Shaz and ultimately Alex laughing and bickering her way with him through the corridor.

This had to be the worst transition between the souls that he has guided ever since his death in 1953. Those sights were now lost to memory, forever never to be re-enacted again. Or was it?

Pub Heaven.

"A Toast to DI Alex Drake, for successfully arriving to Pub Heaven!" It was Sam's voice as he led the crowd to welcome their new Detective Inspector Drake. Nelson deliberately delayed her welcome as she was irritable and moody, unusual for a person who has entered Heavenly realms.

"A Toast!" The crowd rallied as Alex gave a faint smile before joining in with the Toast. Alex was however in no mood to say any congratulations or whatever thank you speech. Sod it, she was feeling gloomy, Molly would only join her later, Gene decided to keep himself out of the Heaven to continue guiding souls. She was alone, much as she appreciated Ray, Chris and Shaz' company and along with Sam and Annie. She was feeling upset, in fact she still had tears in her eyes, especially as the bar started to play any piece by David Bowie.

Pub Heaven was a multiple storey building, the first floor was of course the celebratory Pub. The other floors was the row of endless individual rooms for the occupants. There was a lift up there, which could lift you up to the room you are occupying.

"Sorry seems to be the hardest word" was being played in the Pub Radio. Pretty different from the usual Bowie anthems. It was the late night, Nelson being a pub landlord for all the years, knew that by such a late night. Those people who were still in the Pub Heaven downstairs were those who didn't enjoy this place or were still new visitors still getting themselves drunk till the sun has risen.

Sam and Annie were still constantly flirting as Ray and Chris reminisced those days in Manchester. Sam made a quiet observation that Alex was still sitting alone in the bar counter. It was normal for people to have some time of peace in heaven. Heaven can be a bit too noisy at times, but not when you've just entered Heaven!

"_What to do when lightning strikes me…"_

"_And a way to find that you're not there."_

Alex was drinking more than she could, in fact it was a wonder that she wasn't drunk by now. If she ever drank like that in the real world she would end up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. But yet again this is Pub Heaven.

"How's DI Drake!"

"Still missing the Guv, they were very close, Sam." Chris turned solemn at once.

"How close…" Annie asked.

"Close enough between Chris and Shaz." Ray made a very fair comparison this time.

"I can tell, poor Lady, do you need me to …" Annie decided to be helpful as she looked at a depressed Alex.

"No, Annie, I don't think she needs it now." Shaz interrupted, she knew her lady superior well enough that Annie a person who Alex barely knew from the files will be helpful enough to bring her to peace.

"I think we better leave and get some rest." Chris noted, as the gang gets prepared to leave for the upper floors. Annie decided to guide them through the heavenly procedures.

"I will do it." Sam cheekily declared as the gang looked at him while he walked to the bar counter, Nelson encouragingly nodded towards his direction, he didn't want an unhappy customer.

"How's it going, DI Drake?"

"Alex, no longer in the CID now, Sam?"

"You must be joking! You're in Coppers Heaven, you will always be in the CID for eternity!" Sam laughed as he asked for a chilled martini still Alex wasn't very cheery.

"Come on, Alex, he will be back."

"He won't, I know him more than you Sam, he will never be back." Sam hated the fact that Alex knew the truth well enough for him to not harp and spin anything positive about it.

"You're sure one tough psychologist." Sam smirked.

"Well you still have 5 more appointments with me, DCI Tyler." Alex remembered that Sam for all his reasons, kept skipping the meetings. Alex pretty much enjoyed her sessions with Sam, his wacky stories that were believable though she was quite sceptical and nearly wanted to refer him to the psychiatric institution before his suicide.

"_It's sad….so sad…."_

"_It's a sad sad situation."_

"_And it's getting more and more absurd…"_

Elton John's soft voice following with the woodwinds played a very depressing tune and the lyrics a very bitter reflection of Alex now.

"_Why can't we talk it over…"_ What was in Alex's mind was the lingering bitter and sadness of Gene leaving her to go to the Pub and that she couldn't talk it over with him. She wanted to talk it over with Gene, not Sam!

"Alex, you need to know that you're in Heaven." Sam became more serious this time, he decided that approach should hit the tones right.

"You do sound like me now." Alex mused as she grabbed her glass of wine, this was her 9th, and yet she still wasn't the slightest drunk.

"You know Sam, I would have liked you sitting next to me on the bar counter, such a suave and handsome man, but now…" Alex was nearly back to her normal self as Sam smiled, yet she got herself back to the depressing mode.

"You're in need of anti-depressants."

"Well isn't alcohol a bloody kind of anti-depressant."

"Well it isn't working."

"Is there a pharmacy here in Pub Heaven?"

"There's a Doctor here, but I don't think you really want to visit him, he would be the one who asks you to stop being moody and writes you back to the bar and gives you a mighty pint more of bitter and lager."

"Doctor from 70s?"

"60s, medically trained coroner who has a crooked conservative mind, he would sit well with Enoch Powell, a bit like Ena Sharples."

"You watch Corrie?" Alex suddenly lit up, amazed that any male copper ever would sit down and watch Coronation Street, imagine Gene's expression when he hears that!

"No, but my mother and grandmother does, and my grandmother was a form of Ena Sharples." Alex smirked bitterly again.

"You know what Sam, I still don't feel happy at all." Alex's silent declaration alarmed Nelson, as he stopped pouring the wine and beer for now.

"I can't help it, but you will get over it."

"I'm just not happy, it's not the matter of getting over it, but I'm just not happy!" Alex shouted at Sam, her anger seemed to boil over quite suddenly,luckily most of the police officers were back to blissful sleep now.

"_Sorry seems to be the hardest word…"_

"Sorry…"

"I think you need some rest." Sam knew that his tactics failed miserably, it could console Annie but definitely not Alex.

"Yup."

"I'll escort you to your room, your room key…"

"It's with me, Thanks Sam, but I prefer to go alone."

"Sure."

Alex left the bar counter, Thanked Nelson, and went straight to the lift to her room.

"Failed ahgain, DCI Tyler." Nelson was in his Jamaican accent.

"Yea." Sam gulped down another glass of beer.

"Seems like she doesn't belong here." Nelson reverted back to his Mancunian tone again.

"Why you're changing accents again, Nelson!"

"I like it, anyway Alex, she will have to speak to Old Man soon…." Nelson's tone was now more solemn, as he switched the radio back to some cheerful music after Alex's departure. Nelson smirked, though Sam had no idea who he was referring to.

"The Old Man knows what to do…."

**Please Review! Chapter 2's coming soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the excellent reviews, Chapter 2 is up, and this one is more Alex-centric. Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ashes to Ashes except the characters I create.**

A2A- A Tale Of Families Chapter 2

The traditional blue lamps were outside the hotel rooms, nicely lit with the names of the occupants shining. There was a holy cross at every door.

Alex Drake's room had no number, which was strange as everyone seemed to have one except for her. Her room only had a simple decoration that states: "Detective Inspector Alexandra "Alex" Drake 1973-2008"

According to some of the policemen out there laughing and arguing at the bar, she was supposed to have some form of title in the room like his. "Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler 1969-2006, for Honourable and Distinguished Service to the Force."

Alex was at first miffed to have received no title, maybe she was still a new occupant and thus didn't get the title. She wasn't even in the slightest mood to go down and ask the barman why she's got no title.

Alex managed to open the door, she didn't hesitate and entered as if it was yet another The Railway Arms. Swas now in her new room, it wasn't really a hotel room, more like a grand dream home to her.

She gasped as she saw the dream home, it was a flight of grand stairs, a lot of golden lights. There was also a stereo sound system with a Blu-Ray DVD Player. It was coupled with whatever food she wanted. It was definitely her dream home. Red Walls, a few modern paintings hung on the wall. Her family photos spread across one of the tables. Her medals (from her high school days) were washed and decked in full glory at the living room. There was also a wine cellar and a Macbook which apparently had the heavenly cross with the Met's crest proudly as its wallpaper.

"_What is this, Molly?"_

"_It's my dream home!" Molly was saying it proudly as she let her mother have a look at the picture she just drawn._

"_Wow." Alex exclaimed, her daughter always had a fine hand of art._

"_What about your's Mum, your dream home?"_

"_My dream home is a big grand house, with whatever that I've want, stereo sound system, paintings, wine cellar, a new macbook of course and most importantly with those who I love the most."_

Alex looked again, apparently God answered most of her prayers, but the most important part was definitely lacking. No Molly, definitely No Gene here.

She looked at the bedroom, it wasn't huge to be exact but it was a queen-sized bed, good enough for her. Her Wardrobe had all the things that she wanted to, fashion-designed ones that she would never wear unless she went to a party, or a grand gala which she never thought of.

It was like Cinderella at her own grand palace.

"Wow." Alex half-exclaimed, but no matter how big her dream home is, she still felt a sense of gloom and depression.

She was living in this dream home of hers alone, that didn't make sense. She would have wanted her father (who would have went to hell), her mother (Not in the Police Force.) To join her in this room, she would have wanted the bastard Peter Drake's parents who were lovely and very supportive of her (But they are no Coppers….and they ain't dead anyway) She would have wanted Molly to join her (She's too young to die, and she might never be a copper after her death!)

"_This means nothing to me…..Oh Vienna!" _The song was now being played by the DVD Player, which was a nice touch of shock to Alex like how she ended up in the boat when she first came to Gene's world.

She would have wanted Gene to join her, yes that pighead DCI who is a misogynistic, rude, unhygienic ruffian-like person. This grand posh house definitely did not fit him. But she needed company, and she didn't expect Ray, Chris, Shaz or even Sam and Annie to stay with her. That was totally out of the question. She still was very lonely.

She couldn't sleep that night, no matter how comfortable the bed, gloom and tears dominated that one whole night. It was 3am, she still worried about Molly, what if Evan died, will she be instituted? What will happen to Molly! Gene's assurance was not enough to give her peace, neither did his departure give her much comfort as she entered the heaven not as a soul free from the Devil's clutches. More of a soul whose personal demons and worries were not expelled, but somehow has earned enough to get herself in.

Suddenly, there were knocks on the door. Loud knocks on the doors, and the doorbell rang under the sweet tune of "Morning has Broken."

"Morning hasn't even arrived!" Alex exclaimed irritably as she opened the door. As she opened the door, she thought it would be Nelson, Sam or maybe the room service people. She had little hope it was Molly or anyone familiar.

True enough, it was no one who Alex was familiar with. There was a man who looked very different from the rest of the people in the pub. An old man with a bowtie and a checkered shirt, his hair white as snow. One would aptly describe him as like a certain Professor Yana which Alex when watching Doctor Who with Molly, had a bet with Evan and correctly predicted that Yana was the master. Yet again Alex was reminded and haunted by the past.

"You are?"

"I'm the chief landlord of this heaven here, may I come in?' The old man was a chirpy fellow who came across as a very friendly person.

"Sure." Alex knew it was better to let the old man come in, than let him stand out there.

"Nice room, isn't it, DI Drake?" The old man walked into the hall, he exuded a sense of superiority over others. As he walked into the hall of Alex's dream home.

"I think you meant House." Alex tried to smile gently, it was part of courtesy.

"My, my, of course it is!" The old man grinned as he surveyed the living room.

"Well, it is… Do you like to have a cup of coffee?"

"No thank you, I am here to speak to you, Detective Inspector Drake." The old man went straight to the point as Alex sat on the sofa facing him, he now seemed like the commissioner of police.

"It seems you do not enjoy this place…" The old man continued, as his glowing face calmed Alex a little though she thought the old man might be giving a very angry scolding to her like Gene at its very best.

"I…" Alex was about to speak when the old man interrupted.

"You have no company, you have been abandoned, you feel lonely especially when DCI Hunt sent you up to the heaven without him joining you. You feel terrible also because of your death and your daughter…." Tears started to flow from Alex's eyes as the old man continued his explanation.

"In fact you're still so haunted and nostalgic about the past, that it seems you will never ever truly enjoy this place." The old man smiled again, as he looked at his compass watch once before closing it quickly.

"You are not the devil, are you…" Alex began to be very suspicious over the old man's identity.

"What makes you think so?" The old man cackled, Alex would expect the devil to rise out from this old man like The Master, but apparently it was not to be, too much Doctor Who seemed to have made her brain even more warped than she ever was now.

"Well…."

"You think I sound as sweet as the Devil!" The old man boomed, as he began to relax at Alex's new sofa.

"I'm not, DI Drake." The old man went back to his serious mode within a second, and this time one could tell he was dead serious.

"I am the chief landlord of this pub heaven, and as you know I am…"

"God!" DI Drake exclaimed though this was definitely not one of exasperation.

"Nope, Alex, Nope, I am just the chief in charge of this Pub Heaven."

"Archangel?" Alex thought her new world felt less scientific now, she didn't really memorise the bible, though she had heard the name more than twice. Bible study lessons seem to have been very distant ever since she joined the Met.

"Name?" Alex continued to ask.

"This is not a police interrogation, Miss Drake, I suggest you don't need to know at all." The mysterious old man chuckled again.

"I presume that since you're not enjoying Heaven, you would prefer Hell?" Alex was shellshocked, that old man suddenly from archangel turned into a devil in her mind, he had adopted a funny tone that resembled that rascal Jim Keats.

"I…." Alex thought it was the devil again, and shivered in horror, she would have happily got a cross and slammed the old man's head had he been the devil. It did not help that the old man began cackling and making some weird movements.

"I'm joking!" The old man snapped back and laughed , Alex still was unnerved by the old man. Jim Keats was indeed a nice man but it turned out that he was the devil, so she had every right to be suspicious of the old man.

"I hope you don't give me this fright again, Sir." Alex chillingly stared at the old man again, and apparently a good expression of cold anger was widespread across her beautiful face.

"No, I shall not, though I thought you have been very receptive to having frights during your 3 years in Purgatory." The old man returned to his serious mode, apparently unimpressed by the way how Alex couldn't take much of a joke in here.

"First it was your father, Martin Summers, and then the ghost of DCI Hunt, and then you had the Devil." Alex marvelled at the old man's knowledge and wisdom of her plight, she definitely didn't mention that she had been haunted by the Devil, and definitely not the young Gene's ghost to anybody in the bar and she was now more convinced that he was indeed the chief landlord here.

"I can't have unhappy people in this Heaven, DI Drake." The landlord seemed mightily unhappy now.

"But I…." Alex hesitated again, she didn't know what words to say at all.

"There is only two options here."

"First Option is that you snap out of that depression, moody lady." The old man now faked a Gene Hunt accent, which was pretty believable to Alex, as if Gene Hunt was speaking through the man's mouth.

"What's the second option?"

The old man opened his compass watch again, it turned out to be a habit. He spoke in small whispers to Alex regarding the second option. Alex, for all the time never grinned or even smiled in Pub Heaven. But at this magical moment, she smiled, while tears continued to flow in her face.

Were these tears of joy, or were they tears of absurdity and sorrow yet again?

We'll soon find out.


	3. Chapter 3

A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, Chapter 3's out and this time, its all about Gene.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ashes to Ashes except the characters I create**

The new Mercedes swerved across the streets of London as Gene went to his apartment, an apartment that nobody knew it ever existed. Even the address stated by Gene Stephen Hunt as home was a fake address that somehow had to do with being in bloody Craven Cottage. Gene wanted it to be kept secret, it was his own world after all, and he could dictate whether he wants his house address to be known the damn bloody Public or to just purely himself.

Gene lived in a building with white walls, it didn't seem pretty impressive, the lift was going up for sure this time. It was a very bland building, one could easily describe as a chunk of white chocolate with black spots of oreo cookies around it.

Gene was still reeling from the transition between the old friends of Alex, Raymondo, Chris and Shaz to the new Jensen, Kat, and Benito. Especially when Alex departed, the question of "Do I mean nothing to you, Gene." Continued.

Gene decided against his better judgment instead of going back to his bland apartment and continue to be haunted by the old world. He decided that maybe just maybe he should begin embracing the new world.

The red Mercedes was back in action, as Gene played Spandau Ballet's Chant No.1 as he made the merc go full speed. Just like how the Quattro did its work when the gang made some arrests in that seedy nightclub at Soho.

"_I don't need this pressure on! I don't need this pressure on!"_ As Spandau Ballet continue to sing that chant like a prayer. It helped the Manchester lion gain back some well-needed bravado. After all when Alex discovered the truth of Gene's death (Something Gene did not expect at all, despite knowing Alex's investigations beforehand) It had severely weakened him, especially when he still sees the sight of his old face and the last few moments before he died.

"I don't need this bloody pressure on!" Gene declared as he switched off the radio and walked out to where Luigi's once stood. Now it was replaced by The Londoner's Arms.

The Londoner's Arms was sitting at Luigi's shop (After Luigi went home to Italy, which was Gene's brilliant idea, knowing that Alex will soon have to face the truth.)

The Londoner's Arms was owned by a man named Oliver (N for Nelson, L for Luigi, and now it's O for Oliver) Oliver was an old fellow with a yellow cropped top, and a bit of white hair on the outsides. If one needed to describe him by a person, he had hair like Boris Johnson's but a face like Michael Parkinson.

"Olie~ Gin and Tonic with some Vodka in it!" Gene declared as he made his entrance to the Londoner's Arms while the rest of the team were looking at him quite surprisingly.

"I thought you were at home, Guv!" DC Katherine Hill looked strangely at Gene as he got himself settled at the bar.

"Changed my mind." Gene muttered, he couldn't retort much as he always did to Alex.

"Well you certainly said you're keeping yourself out of alcohol." Drew Jensen laughed with the rest of the coppers.

"I SAID I CHANGED MY BLOODY MIND, YOU BLOODY PHONE PRICK!" Gene roared back at Drew and grabbed his collar like what he did to Sam, who obviously got the point as the rest of the gang stopped laughing. Gene was very mad, though he had a lot of patience with Sam, he didn't have the slightest for this Iphone guy.

"Calm down DCI Hunt!" Oliver noted as he was beginning to prepare the Gin and Tonic for Gene.

"Olie, I've changed my bloody bastard mind, now I want some good old Italian wine and Chicken in a Basket."

"Weird Combination, Guv." Benito murmured as he sipped his bottle of soda. Gene didn't bother to hear and marched up to the bar counter.

"_Guv, you going to Luigi's." Ray asked as the day ended yet again._

"_No, Raymondo, I just want some bloody peace and quiet for myself?"_

"_That's weird." Ray continued as Chris gave an obvious smirk._

"_Guv, why are you following us then? We're going to Luigi's." Chris went on._

"_Peace and quiet at Luigi's…" Shaz raised her eyebrows for a while._

"_Yes, Essex Girl, I pretty much changed my bloody mind to have a drink with you and bloody company!" Gene then turned back and got his Quattro fired up as Ray, Chris and Shaz went into the car._

"_Oi! No love in the Quattro!" Gene noted just as Shaz and Chris were about to kiss each other passionately much to the disgust of Ray. The Quattro blasted into full speed towards Luigi's._

The Londoner's Arms was distinctly a Pub like the Railway Arms in Manchester. Gene wanted some 1970s Nostalgia in his world, yet again he somehow began to appreciate some good Italian cuisine (He swore he never liked Luigi's food but yet again somehow yeah it was fine…) under Alex's influence. So the Londoner's Arms still had a very restaurant feel to it and that the food served had a rather wide range from good ole English junk food to some fancy Italian cuisine.

The walls remained painted maroon red like Luigi's though the original Hollywood mural that gave the old feel was now replaced by a wall of posters of footballers and sirens, along with scarfs of different football clubs hanging around it. (Gene made it a point to include Manchester City's scarf on the bloody top of all)

The Londoner's arms however had a pub counter that was distinctly similar to Nelson's Pub. The brew of beer and the variety of wine was still pretty wide like Luigi's. All this Gene could only thank Oliver, a kind old polished man who didn't seem like one of those scruffy landlords of the Pub. (Being a third-generation polish immigrant, he didn't have much of a strange accent like Luigi and Nelson, more like a real Londoner's accent)

Gene deliberately created Oliver in order for somebody to continue to push about though Oliver kept a very strong and protective presence in his own pub. In fact Oliver reminded Gene of kind good police superiors who didn't care much about politics those days.

"What's wrong with you, ?" Oliver got his chicken in a basket and the Italian wine out in front of Gene.

"Bad mood, Olie, Bloody bad mood!"

"Chicken in a basket, and Italian wine, well you have seem to very weird combinations for your meals." Oliver was a food gourmet, and a very observant one too.

"You know my specialties here is definitely not some chicken in a basket." Oliver continued as Gene began to dissect the chicken. All Gene was thinking of how Sam decided to use his great initiative in that Trafford Arms.

"I do serve more than just Italian wine for drinks…" All Gene could think of then was Alex sitting on one of the bar counter seats and sipping another glass of wine.

"I'm in no mood for bloody gastnoromic adventures, Olie!"

"Gastronomic, I thought you were very adventurous according to the former owner."

"Luigi?"

"Yeah, he's enjoying Rome now, spending his time as a very rich man!" Gene could only smirk bitterly.

"His food is never as good as yours!" Gene protested, he was not in the mood to be nasty, and it seems very out of character for him to not give some bloody criticism.

"I think Liverpool's gonna win the title this time." Drew Jensen observed.

"You sure about that, Drew, I'm thinking about Southampton, quite promising." Benito replied.

"I mean the 1980s, Liverpool's era wasn't it?"

"Yes it was." Katherine was quite charmed by Drew and obviously decided to agree with him.

"The gunners will win it, let's get this straight!" Oliver shouted across the bar, it was true he was an Arsenal fan, judging from one of the walls of the pub was an Arsenal shrine, it nearly put off some officers who sided with West Ham and Tottenham until Drew pointed out how diverse the police force is in terms of football.

Gene didn't need to discuss much about his football preferences, Manchester City much to his bloody dissatisfaction got themselves relegated.

"_I say that United are going to win it big!" Ray declared, pretty much unaware that Gene was around._

"_Nah, how can you expect them to win, West Ham all the way!" Viv declares as some of the coppers agree in unison._

"_Liverpool Lads, might get this one though." Chris noted._

"_Not bloody Liverpool again! No way United's going to let it happen, you see we have…." Just as Ray continued, Gene apparently was more obvious now as he enters the pub, and Ray apparently decided to shut himself up._

"_Apparently what, Raymondo?"_

"_Apparently City…. City better than them, Guv." Viv, Chris laughed at the sight of Raymondo as he silently drank his beer, apparently he didn't want his brilliant Guv to start slamming him._

"Heard you guys caught some pretty big fish today." Oliver was now sitting on the table along with Kat, Benito, and Drew. Unlike Luigi, Oliver had the luxury of sitting with customers, and customers like Drew obviously loved it.

"Yeah! Big fish, some serial murderer we managed to catch it thanks to Benito over there."

"I think the Guv also should get some credit." Kat noted.

"Yeah, but I think the Guv, he's like a madman running the house." Another officer joined the conversation.

"Mad…very mad.." Benito emphasized it.

Gene was staring into blank space and continued drinking.

"He doesn't seem to like us here and I'm a detective constable, yet I have to be like some police constable secretary serving tea with how many sugars in it!" Kat began to protest pretty loud.

"I think he could hear you." Benito pointed out as Gene was turning his head towards them and gave them a scowling stare.

"_How can you mend a broken heart?"_

"_How can you stop the rain from falling down…"_

Bee Gees was playing in the Pub, and Gene hated the song that was playing, it was yet another obvious reflection of his feelings now. Gene decided that maybe it's time to leave early.

"You leaving now, DCI Hunt?" Oliver asked as Drew and the rest of the gang decided to keep themselves silent, Gene's outbursts had now distanced the team and himself.

"Yes, Olie, the next time I have chicken in a basket, I expect the damn chips to be bloody crispier, as crispy as those in Tudor!" Gene made a stark criticism just as Oliver was about to give his own retort, Gene bolted out of the Pub, an angrier man obviously.

Gene was now back to his own house, the feeling of anger has subsided, though the mood of depression was gaining its grip. Gene couldn't stay long enough in the Pub, what he saw was still him and Alex drinking to their fill. Ray and Chris making those bloody silly jokes that none of his new team were as capable of.

He held his keys firmly, the keys had the initials GH on it with the key having a huge word GUARDIAN in it. Gene wondered if it was time to retire, he didn't want to retire especially when the devil was still around taking away souls. That sense of duty and passion has never escaped him but the chilling pain of losing 4 good friends to the one upstairs was something he needed to swallow, and now he really couldn't.


	4. Chapter 4

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Finally the Reunion we're waiting for! Please give me your reviews! Thanks!**

Gene apparently has had a lot of difficulty opening his door.

The door was painted green with a ferocious lion door knob stuck right at the centre of the door. Gene normally would use his key to open the green door easily, better than knocking the lion knob 3 times like those bloody masons and expect the green door to open by itself.

"Oi! You bloody green door! Must I kick down my own door as if it's some bloody suspects!" The door refused to open, in fact there was definitely a force holding the door back from being opened.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Gene roared and out of anger knocked the lion knob more than 4 times just to get the door out.

"Oof!" Just as the door finally opened, a lady just hugged him very tightly.

"Gene!" It was Alex's trembling voice of emotion.

If you thought Gene Hunt would be very surprised that Alex was standing right in front of him, you would be disappointed.

"Nelson! Stop playing that prank!" Gene pushed away Alex from his body, and apparently shouted at Alex.

"It's me, Alex!"

"Ha! Nelson! You better stop playing that bloody prank with Sam up there because I will make sure once I get to the Pub, I will smash the beer jugs out there!" Gene screamed at her, apparently Nelson played too many pranks at him.

"Guv!" Alex shouted in disbelief.

"Nelson! I saw through that bloody trick you gave, apparently you got the idea from bloody Jimbo Keats now show yourself out of this apartment!"

"I…."

"OUT!" Gene roared again, he was in a bad mood, and he hated pranksters.

"Guv!"

"OUT OF HERE, NELSON, OR SHOULD I GO UP THERE AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ARSE!" Gene still wasn't convinced it was Alex, to him Alex was up there in heaven. He took her to his collar, as if he really didn't know her.

"Don't I mean nothing to you, Gene!" Alex gave that horrible chilling sentence as she desperately fought tears. Gene suddenly received a heavy jolt, he backed off and felt gutted and he didn't want this sentence to be heard again.

"Huh….." Gene was panting with anger, he had blasted too many people, punched too many arses today that he felt so tired, and it seems Nelson is pretty hell determined to trick Gene this time.

"Look, Nelson, but this is going too far, you want me to go up to Railway Arms to get that pint!" Gene continued to pant with anger as his eyes continued to look straight at Alex's.

Alex immediately using her mighty strength of her gave a punch on the mouth to Gene which Gene nearly decided to retaliate until he saw Nelson standing on the sidelines.

"Bloody hell…" Gene started to swallow the truth, he looked at Alex's face, it was still that beautiful face, red full lips, same nose, same bob haircut, albeit with a different blue shirt with her trademark white jacket intact and obviously still the same smoking hot body. Apparently it wasn't a joke as Nelson who usually morphed into Alex was now standing right behind her.

"What the bloody hell, Bolly are you doing here!" Gene hugged Alex again now obviously certain that this was not a prank.

"This isn't a bloody dream, is it!"

"No it isn't Guv, it isn't! How could you not recognize me!"

"It isn't his fault, DI Drake, apparently I and the devil played too many tricks on him. I thought a kiss would have done the trick, Miss Drake, but it seems a punch was way more effective." Grinned Nelson in his Jamaican accent.

"You're supposed to be in the saloon bar in Pub, up there with Raymondo, Shaz, and Chris!" Gene looked at Alex's face again as Alex began to wipe her tears, though obviously she was smiling.

"Apparently she's not happy up there." Out of nowhere, the old man with the golden fob watch appeared in Gene's apartment.

"Sir…" Gene noticed the old man at once and immediately gave him a proper salute which was very rare of him.

The old man saluted back and said "Easy." As if he was a military man.

"Sir, you're here for." Gene seemed like he totally ignored Alex's presence. The old man was definitely someone most superior than Gene, in fact maybe higher than the Home Secretary itself!

"Well I'm here to introduce your new partner, the old man signalled Gene and Alex to have a seat while he approved Nelson to take his leave back to the bar."

"You don't mean…." Gene was keeping his tone of excitement or anger down, while Alex couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, DI Alex Drake, she will be co-guardian of the purgatory here."

"I'm sorry but…"

"Let me repeat this again, Gene Hunt, that now Miss Alex Drake will be the co-guardian of this purgatory." The old man gave a rather wicked smile as he opened his golden watch again.

"You mean she…"

"She's agreed to joining the Guardian Council, Gene, but with a special request that…."

"That she join me as co-guardian of my damn bloody world." Gene forgotten the old man was right in front of him and looked at a much more chirpy Alex.

"Yes, and I think you can explain to her all the details about this, can you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Have a good night's rest, DCI Hunt and DI Drake, it has definitely been a long day for you, Hunt."

"Yes, Sir." Alex suddenly turned her head towards the mysterious old man who smiled again as he vanished into thin air without even a slight presence.

"Guv, you mean he's the…."

"Don't call me that!" Gene shot back, he was of course showing that he was angry over Alex's decision to be co-guardian.

"But…"

"Alex, he's the President of the Guardians Council, also bloody known as one of those angels up there in the highest of all heavens." Gene grabbed his bottle of whisky and got himself a huge gulp and later gentlemanly decided to pour one glass for Alex.

"I didn't know…."

"Now you do, and why did you agree to be a Guardian, you know you can't enjoy the Pub, you can't be with Sam, Annie, Raymondo, Chris…"

"I just want to be with you, Gene." Alex chirpily gave a peck to Gene's face.

"Don't I mean nothing to you, Gene?" Alex gave a wicked grin as she said the words in a less chilling way.

"If you dare say that again, Bolls, I will make bloody sure…."

"Make bloody sure what, after all I'm co-guardian here now!" Gene couldn't retort and decided to play the radio.

The radio was playing Ashes to Ashes and apparently the first verse both Gene and Alex heard was.

"_I'm stuck with a valuable friend…."_

"You know Bolls, if you ever ask this question again, my bloody heart will be ripped once again."

"How touching." Smirked Alex as she continued to sip the whisky of Gene's cup.

"Don't I…." Alex continued jokingly.

"YES! TO ME, YOU MEAN A DAMN LOT TO ME IN MY BLOODY HEART, ARE WE FINE!" Gene roared back, while Alex looked at him slightly shocked, and of course in her heart definitely very pleased.

"Well I shall never ask that question anymore."

"Halle-bloody-lujah!" Gene got back to his sofa couch as Alex began to read the files on the table.

"Detective Inspector Drew Jensen, born in 1978, was killed in a car accident in 2010."

"You mean…"

"These are their case files, Bolly, you have a look at his." The case file of Drew Jensen's had some writing on it by Gene, with only one column on Guardian's report, but somehow the document now changed to two columns so that Alex could put in her comments.

"This Drew Jensen must be a…"

"A poofy creep who loves his phone."

"Iphone."

"Right whatever."

"Detective Sergeant Benito Delgado, born in 1960, died in 1999."

"You mean he had been…." Alex looked at the case file's history apparently there was a lot of transfers going around Benito.

"Why did the guardians transfer him like as if they're kicking a football."

"He's south American and apparently his performances have not redeemed him enough."

"Like Chris and Ray and Shaz." Gene could only nod.

"Detective Constable Katherine Hill, born in 1970, died in 2005 after being killed in a car accident."

"Bolly, stop reading the case files, will you."

"They're all dead…"

"Just like me and…"

"Me." Gene smiled as he grabbed himself another cup of whisky.

"Bolly, it seems I must now explain how the guardian rules work."

"How?"

"Firstly, you can never reveal the truth. The truth is forbidden and must be kept in secret."

"But they do have the…"

"If they know before the Guardian can send them up to Heaven, they will be sent to Hell by the Devil just like Raymondo and company nearly was."

"I see…."

"Secondly, you're to lead them to heaven if their souls are good and that they have shown their contributions that deserve them to go up to heaven."

"But Viv…"

"Viv was a good copper, but I lost him to Jimbo Keats…" Gene bowed his head down in regret.

"So if a soul is dead, the guardian must save him in the nick of time before the devil arrives…"

"Like Shaz when she was stabbed accidentally…"

"That clown was just her illusion along with yours, Bolls." Gene explained to her.

"But Martin Summers…"

"He was a creep who managed to get himself into comatose status with your knowledge and somehow used it against you."

"And he's…"

"Dead and Condemned."

"Condemned?" Alex was now writing notes of whatever she needed to know including the answers to the questions she had asked for three long years.

"Thirdly, you will condemn souls in the purgatory that betray the police and commit heinous acts."

"Like DI Bevan?"

"Yes, so what did you say to him, City caning United."

"No, I condemned him into hell to eternity."

"But Keats, the devil could have got him, you don't need to…"

"As a Guardian, Bolly you are battling the devil for the salvation of the souls, some souls can never be salvaged like Bevan, I had to condemn him rather than let the devil gleefully bloody take him."

"The Devil takes these souls to hell to increase his power over the Guardian, and ultimately defeat him."

"and Vice Versa." Alex made a smart inference.

"Stop writing those notes, Bolls, you're a guardian now not a bloody journalist!" Gene turned the conversation back to a lighter note as Alex placed back the notebook on the table.

"What about Louise?"

"The devil took her down…"

"Why didn't you?"

"She didn't deserve condemnation or salvation, Bolly." Gene concluded.

"You are the judge, Bolly, you have the power invested upon you as Guardian to lead them to where they should be. You cannot misuse this power."

"You think I will…"

"I don't know! You're such a stubborn and emotional knickers, you make bloody mistakes that could get the Devil to beat you up like hell!"

"Right, enough of all the rules, and some of the privileges, one privilege is that you decide where you can eat, and you can decide…"

"History." Alex winced at that thought.

"No, Bolly, you cannot change history, events in the purgatory follow the real world's."

"You can decide whether you want your apartment here to be a grand posh house or you want it to be like a rat's hole like mine."

"Well I'm quite fine with this apartment, as long as I make some touches to it." Alex winked and immediately the room was much more organized and definitely more aesthetically appealing.

"What the bloody…"

"Heaven?"

"It's late, I think you should get some sleep." Gene decided that much more of the talking could be done tomorrow rather than all in tonight.

"I'll sleep when you'll sleep." Gene was now dangerously close to Alex. Alex gave a passionate kiss to Gene who reciprocated immediately. Just as both of them began their journey of physical love.

"It's a new world now Bolls, you and me together."

"Unbreakable, Bolls."

"Unbreakable, Gene."

"An Unbreakable team." Both of them said in unison as Gene got his clothes off, along with Alex's.

"I think you meant an unbreakable couple, Gene."

"It doesn't bloody matter anyway, does it Bolls?"

It was going to be one heaven of a night as Gene and Alex enjoyed what they couldn't enjoy those three years when he the guardian, she the lost soul. Now this loving duo are the guardians, and a brave new world is about to be opened by both of them.


	5. Chapter 5

A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 5

**Author's Note: The story's not over yet, and I really hope that those who have placed the story in their story alert give me some feedback, would really like to hear more from you all! Thanks!**

"Rise and Shine, Genie Gene!" Alex's chirpy voice didn't seem to fall in Gene's ear as he continued snoring like a big trumpet.

"Wake Up!" Alex gave one tight slap to Gene's face which obviously woke him up just like how Alex was awaken from the coma in 1983.

"Right! Bolly, I don't need an alarm clock that is as chirpy as you eh!" Gene shrugged and grumbled while Alex was already busy preparing breakfast.

"What time's it?"

"7am, the sun's up as high as mount everest." Alex was making quite an unfair comparison.

"If it is that, it should be high as High Noon, Bolly!" Gene snapped as he brushed his teeth at his apartment, apparently Alex had changed the toilet into a bit more posh and added her own array of cosmetic products and shampoos whatsoever there.

"You know Bolls, your power as Guardian and person who transforms this world stays in this bloody apartment." As Gene finished gargling his mouth with his favourite whisky.

"You gargle your mouth with whisky!" Alex exclaimed as she looked at the array of cosmetic products around, it was still thankfully kept intact.

"Alcohol cleans the bloody teeth!" Gene declares proudly as Alex shakes her head in utter dismay.

"I wonder if you ever need to go the dentist!"

"Where's my breakfast!" Gene gets his shirt on, ties his bloody tie and was now out in the dining table of his small apartment while Alex had two plates of toast, bacon and eggs all sitting happily with the oats and cereals on the table.

Gene had never eaten his proper breakfast for most of his life as Guardian, his definition of breakfast is just some bread, spread some bloody butter and off he goes back to police station. If not, he will settle it at bloody Luigi's or currently known as Oliver's.

"You know I think we should expand this apartment."

"You need to pay for that, Bolly."

"Pay for?" Alex was now pouring her favourite corn flakes into a bowl of milk while Gene starting eating the crunchy toast.

"For apartment! You know I only control my living surroundings here, and I've been given this bloody building since 1953."

"Well you ought to speak to the old man, that now he's having two guardians here!" Alex protested as she got herself eating the corn flakes.

"You know Bolls, I'm rushing for time here."

"Work doesn't start at 7, Guv."

"Don't call me that anymore here, Bolly, we're equal!" Gene snapped as he took on the sausages.

"Right, you mean…"

"You've been promoted, DCI Drake." Gene got back Alex's case file and threw it to her. In it the file now shows the new brand of DCI Alex Drake.

"Well I'm now the lady guv here." Alex said proudly.

"According to your new records, you have been transferred to Plymouth as DI, and now you're back as DCI!"

"Well, I think I've been an excellent copper in Plymouth to get promotion." Gene managed a slight smirk as he finished his breakfast while Alex was just slowly eating her bacon.

"Bolly, you're quite a slow eater in the morning!"

"Well eating fast doesn't help!"

"I need to see to it that you be introduced to the bloody team out there!"

"I think I can come up with a good one." Alex smiled again, as she finishes the last piece of streaky bacon.

"Don't tell me you're going to be the prozzie bird again!"

"Before you leave, Gene! You better do some cleaning up!"

"Oh for the love of bloody lord, no!" Gene protested like a teenager now.

"You'd better do so, I can't believe I'm living with such a filthy teenager!" Gene sulkily got his coat off and went to get the broom, the teenager silhouette seemed to reflect on the windows.

"You know I could actually just get it cleaned within a second."

"And I will make sure you will do it the hard way!" Alex smirked as Gene somehow could not let his house change into a clean one which obviously left him grumbling.

"Like I said, Bolly, don't go using a tart bird as a cover!"

"Definitely something better."

"Right! I'm done!" Gene smiled as he did a quick sweep of the whole floor.

"Not yet, look at the dust here, look at the mess there!"

"Continue looking here and bloody there, Bolly, I don't have time for the cleaning job!"

"You'd better learn!" Alex feigned a higher tone of voice, as if she was on Coronation Street. Gene meanwhile shrugged and hastily decided to sweep away all the dust and mess as Alex continues pointing and signalling to him where the mess is.

"I'm bloody glad you're back, yet I'm bloody being annoyed again!" Gene shouts as he finishes the cleaning.

"Right, let's go!" Gene throws the broom into the locker and a waiting Alex joins him out of the guardian's house and back into the purgatory world.

"Well it's certainly a very dull building out there!"

"Yes Drake, I'm glad you know that." As Gene marched into his red Mercedes with Alex and charged out of the building area into the streets of Fenchurch East.

"You still drive like as if there's no speed limits here, Gene!"

"Why not!" Gene deliberately made the car run faster as Alex tried getting used to Hunt driving again.

"I think you should not introduce me until the perfect moment, Guv!"

"Don't call me that…"

"Well Guv, I think I shall play undercover!"

"You're not telling me you're not going to assume that bloody guardianship on the first day!" Gene protested as he swerves his car to the right lane.

"Yes, I do intend to know your members without revealing my identity yet."

"You're going Loco Incognito here!" Gene exclaims as he stops his car.

"Yes, and I want to go for some shopping now!"

"For what? It's not as if you don't have…" Gene remembers the wardrobe dilemma that every guardian begins with. Gene remembered that he only had one jacket with him and needed to go on a shopping spree.

"Well let's just say I'd like to go for some retail therapy, Bye!" Alex went out of the car and apparently walked into the shops, while Gene could only barely manage a smile and shakes his head for a while before zooming off back to Fenchurch East.

"Bloody Morning!" Gene exclaims as he marches back into Fenchurch East.

"Morning, Guv." The officers cried meekly as Gene got himself looking at the flipcharts.

"Right, Danny Boy, what the bloody hell is this!"

"A robbery took place at the banker's mansion."

"Banker who?"

"Mr. Sung, some Chinese banker or something."

"When did it happen?"

"5am, the banker was silenced by some masked men who then took a lot of the furniture and money whatsoever." Katherine continues as she reads the filed police report.

"Police at the scene?"

"Yeah, they're waiting for us now Guv." Benito added.

"I'm just thinking…."

"What is it, Colchester Girl, you know I have not much bloody time listening to some female bloody talk here!" Gene snapped.

"The files have been wrongly typed, in fact they are everywhere!"

"Well I should demote you to WPC, and I think you will do a great job there, shall I, now Mush!" Gene declares though he knows that the files were one real mess especially when the previous desk sergeant turned out to be a uptight bore that drove Gene nuts.

Sung Mansion

"What a big mansion!" Drew exclaims, the mansion was indeed pretty big considered that Fenchurch East only has a lot of brick buildings that weren't even near half the height of Big Ben.

"The Chinese are bloody rich!"

"It sure is, definitely prone to robberies." Benito made a very smart inference though Gene hated feeling stupid especially when he's surrounded by too many clever coppers!

"Guv, is there anyway you could…"

"Reduce the speed, go to Heaven bloody Nick, I swear to god that if I drive my car so slow I must have been bloody drunk or I'm bloody dead."

"Apparently you're neither." Kat shot back just like how Alex would do.

"Of course, now let's get ourselves storming into the mansion!" Gene got his red Mercedes speeding and swerving out to the mansion's porch.

"Right, who's the poor chap out there who got robbed."

"Firstly, Guv that man is no poor chap!" Drew decided to correct Gene's good ole opinion.

"Of course he is, getting robbed in his house still makes him good enough to join some bugger golf country club!"

"Kat, Benito! Go and search for any bloody clue who did this. While I and Danny Boy go out there and look for

"You are?"

"DCI Gene Hunt, CID!" seemed like a very rich man indeed, nice suit, fine tie but apparently after the robbery he looked more like a frustrated drunkard than a decent banker.

", could you tell us what happened yesterday night." Drew cut straight to the point.

"Well, I wasn't very clear… Would you like to have.." was hesitating and definitely struggling to remember.

"Garibaldi Biscuits, and a good cup of tea."

"Sure, Sri Lankan tea, fine one indeed." then signalled one of the maids to get ready a cup of tea for Gene while Drew courteously denied the offer.

"There were a bunch of thieves, they were masked and they barged in, knocked my butler down, I was just standing outside the kitchen and then those armed men just made me go to sleep by smothering me."

"Was there anyone besides you in the mansion that time?"

"Well my wife went out, so yeah I'm alone on that night."

"No mistress, no pretty lady or?"

"No! DCI Hunt, I hope you don't question my integrity!" Gene's offensive comment immediately got a firing back by .

"You seem to struggle to remember, and as far as I know it, rich bastards often have mistresses when their wives are not in town."

"You're calling me…."

"I think my DCI is a bit too generic…." Drew immediately interceded on Gene's behalf while a slightly offended continued looking at his house.

"That copper's right!" A lady's voice came booming in as the men looked at her.

The Chinese woman was decked in full tiara, apparently wearing a designer gown.

"Mary…"

"I think you know more than you do, Mr. Song!" Gene gave a nasty smirk at .

"Look! I swear I was alone with the maids and the butler, if you don't believe me!"

"How much did you lose?" Gene was uninterested to listen to husband and wife bickering in front of him.

"Quite a lot of jewellery, gold bars, and some files."

"What files?" DI Jensen was now slightly alarmed.

"Quite a lot of them, but they've taken almost all my money here, including some of my books!" was now seething with anger as his wife tried to calm him down, though one could see she was worried over the loss of her jewellery.

"Right! If you don't mind, , my DI here will write down a list of what the bloody things you've lost while I look around the whole mansion!" Gene did not expect a reply as he rudely left behind DI Jensen to awkwardly ask on what he's lost.

"These thieves are quite courageous, Guv." Benito was looking at the master bedroom.

"They've made the master bedroom an entire mess!"

"Yes indeed, look what I've found." Benito signalled to Gene to look at the desk.

"They've taken whatever he's got, Benito, those thieves are however not good enough to break the bloody safe!" Benito had opened the safe within seconds, and there were signs that the thieves tried to hammer the safe out. Gene now knew that these thieves might not be those of high professional calibre.

"_These thieves are definitely not good ones."Ray was looking at a locked safe._

"_How so?" Chris joined in not very long and didn't seem to possess much brain then._

"_Try unlocking the safe." Gene got Chris to do it._

"_Oh Shit!" Chris fumbled for too many times unable to unlock the safe with the codes and kicking it down wasn't a viable option._

"_Raymondo." Ray immediately placed his ear close enough to the safe, and within a few minutes opened it, finding the safe empty._

"_That's what I call a professional!" Ray proudly exclaims as Chris looks in amazement._

"Guv!" It was Katherine's shout as Gene now walked down the stairs and was now out on the lawns of the mansion.

"Look what I've found!" Katherine's hands was now dirty with some of the mud around being dug. Katherine didn't need to explain as Benito looked at it, a dead man's body was hidden in the bushes albeit very skilfully.

"Bugger, we have a dead man!" Gene declares as Drew joins in as they see the body. What made it disgusting was that the man had been hacked into pieces literally, which prompted Drew nearly to vomit.

"This is not a bloody theft…"

"It's murder!" Drew declares, Gene looks on at the team and again the surroundings, another bloody murder case with the new team, where's Bolly?

Coroner's Office

"How's the puzzle now, Harry!" Gene asks the hapless coroner and his assistant.

"Fixed in quick time, I'm a coroner remember?" Harry was pretty cheerful today.

"How could you be so happy when there's so many dead men out there?" Asked an amazed Drew.

"He's a bloody coroner, Danny Boy, that's his bloody job!"

"I've managed to fit his body into a good puzzle, they've hacked him into several pieces."

"Is that the cause of death?"

"Unfortunately I don't think so, as you can see from this piece here." The coroner took out one of the puzzle pieces while Drew could only give a painful squirming expression, Gene raised his eyebrows.

"There's a stabbing wound there."

"Yes, apparently quite a few, the wounds are quite thin but a lot of them apparently and there was quite a lot of blood loss."

"Time of Death?"

"I would say 10-12 hours at least."

"That's about bloody time the robbery started, around midnight or so." Gene then gets himself out of the coroner room, without saying a goodbye.

"Bye, Doc." Drew managed a faint smile while the coroner gave a even more creepy cheerful look back.

"Have we got an ID!" Gene and Drew stormed back into the room.

"They're struggling to find it, Sir." Katherine tried to keep her voice lower than usual, the Guv hates bad news, especially one delivered from her.

"Why is it so bloody slow from the desk here aye!" Gene barked out, he couldn't believe the efficiency of the people at the desk is unbelievably low ever since Viv left.

"Because they lack a good desk sergeant here!" Gene turned his head around, his eyes glowed open as he looked at a very familiar face entering his office with file on hand.


	6. Chapter 6

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This is arguably one of the longer chapters I've wrote for my stories. I've somehow got the inspiration of adding LOM elements into the story by PhilippaRM, though it was long intended to add another character in to spice things up. Please read and review, and thanks to all who are reading this, and especially those who have so kindly reviewed the story for me. **

"Oh bloody…" Gene was full of surprise as he looks even more surprised than his reunion with Alex.

"Yes it's me, DCI Hunt!" It was a loud cranky female's voice as she walked and threw the file to Benito.

"Phyllis, how the bloody hell did you."

"Transferred from Portsmouth, and yes I'm the new skip here, lads, so Hi!" Phyllis had her hands folded, as she gave a slight smirk

"Hi…." The rest of the gang probably thought she was just a mere old lady that came out of nowhere.

"You need a better organizer here at the desk, Guv."

"Which would cost me what another pocket's worth of salary."

"It will cost you a pocket's worth of time not being wasted to identify a twat just like you." Gene didn't reply, in fact he knew very well Phyllis was a lady with a lot more bite than Shaz.

"Well I certainly do hope so." Gene was wondering why would Phyllis be here in London when he made that curt retort he could only think of.

"_You must be DCI Hunt!"_

"_Who the bloody hell are you!" Gene looked at the man who just plainly greeted him, in fact the first person to greet him._

"_Viv James, the Desk Sergeant here, you can call me Viv, Sir!"_

"_Guv." Gene re-asserted while Ray and Chris were somewhat looking quite out of place at their new Fenchurch East office._

"_Welcome to Fenchurch East, do you want me to."_

"_Sure." Ray immediately wanted a tour at this new southern ghetto of sorts, it all seemed very modern to the trio._

"_It seems like the files are very organized here." Gene was instead turning his attention to the desk, way more organized than the one in Manchester._

"_Yes, Sir… I mean Guv. I take responsibility for that!" Viv was somewhat unnerved by the Lion of Manchester._

"_You know I hate to say this, but London is a very strange place indeed."_

"_Don't worry Sir, I'll take care of you, I mean Guv." Viv still jumbled his words though Gene replied without a word but a slight gentle nod and a even slighter smile._

"Viv." Gene mumbled as he saw Phyllis walk back to the desk, this time he could only see Viv walking out and maybe poking a joke or two at Ray. He looked at Ray's desk, Benito took over it.

"Brave New World, Gene." DCI Hunt mumbled to himself, the term Brave however this time didn't seem to catch Gene, and the more he hallucinated, he decides to have a right measure of whisky.

The only thing that resembles the good old days besides Alex.

Alex was meanwhile beginning her shopping spree, and it turns out to be a fantastic shopping trip of sorts.

"Louis Vuitton, Coach, Armani, A whole new set of wardrobe, hmm… what else is there?" Alex always had a note pad with her, easy to take down things she might easily forget especially when it comes to shopping.

"How I wish Gene was here." Alex thought, she would now say that by the end of this shopping spree she had, apparently she would need a person to carry for them, and Gene unfortunately was not there.

"But what cover can I do now that I have all such stuff!" Alex got herself a seat in one of those cushions outside the shopping mall. It did look like one of those posh shopping malls. But wait a minute, shopping malls especially those high-end ones didn't seem to exist till the 21st century.

"Ah, it's my world anyway!" Alex grins, thinking that she was silly enough to even question herself over the world she's now at..

Alex saw a mother and daughter quarrelling outside the shopping mall, the mother apparently was one working mother who seemed as busy as a lawyer.

"A lawyer…" Alex thought, she silently smiles again, knowing that this time she's definitely not using a prostitute as the cover of the year again.

"The man's been identified as James Caldwell, was arrested for small theft, member of some street gang around Fenchurch East."

"High time we paid a visit to those gangs." Drew mumbled as one of the officers began to put up the photo of the poor hacked gangster and some photos of the Sung's mansion robbery.

"As far as I can tell, Danny Boy, these street gangsters especially scottish are not that bloody daring to launch such a good scheme to rob such a bloody rich banker!" Gene struck off the street gangs' suspicion immediately.

"I think you are a bit too generic, Guv! In America, the street gangs are powerful enough to do anything including shooting you right this instant!" Katherine had read too much of drive-by-shootings in america.

"Well in bloody Britain, they do things differently, Colchester lady!"

"Screw those yanks, they probably are all twats that should have been brits." Phyllis' nasal tone completely gave the sentence a huge ironic twist.

"Yeah, and I'm stuck with a bunch of self-proclaimed clever coppers who think they're so clever they can beat the old guys here!"

"I need a few filing cabinets here, apparently the previous skip had a bit of problem in managing files."

"It should be somewhere out there, Phyllis, you know what to bloody do!"

"Yes I am, and you sure know how to deal with these young fellows eh?"

"Who's this old lady in uniform." Katherine had little idea who Phyllis was at the first place.

"By referring to me as old lady, young girl, you're referring to someone you will be in 50 years time."

"Well there's something called plastic surgery." Katherine quipped.

"Plastic all over your face will end up you being in the mortuary like a plastic doll, so be kind, will you, You young tart!" Phyllis' retaliation pretty much sums up her antagonism towards Kat.

"What time is it now?" Benito asked.

"Lunchtime." Phyllis noted gruffly, one of the best times to look out for was Lunchtime and the golden 5pm clock for desk sergeants.

"Right, it's time to welcome WPC Dobbs into CID with a visit to the pub now."

"What is it, Railway Arms?"

"Nope, Londoner's." Gene noted as the gang got themselves out of the drab Fenchurch East office.

Londoner's Arms.

"Well it's certainly looking too posh for a Pub!" Phyllis exclaimed as she got herself surveying the surroundings of the pub.

"It's a restaurant pub, Ma'am." Noted a smiling Oliver as he was wiping the plates, Orders?"

"Fish and Chips!" Gene got himself seated right smack at the middle of the gang along with Drew, Phyllis, Benito and Katherine surrounding at a circular table.

"Shepherd's Pie."

"Chicken Burger with Salsa sauce."

"What recommendations do you have for me?" Phyllis was obviously quite slightly smitten with Oliver as she asked him for his views.

"Well I do serve very good pork scratchings!" Oliver flashed a charming smile which Phyllis reciprocated.

"Then give me one please!"

"I thought you hated pork scratchings!" Gene was perplexed yet again over Phyllis' decision.

"I like Pork Scratchings made by handsome men like him, not by some pighead who keeps reminding me of the old days like you." The rest of the gang started to snigger quite loudly.

"And you DCI Hunt?"

"Well get me one Lasagna then with a pint of Guinness!"

"Is that what everybody here wants, a pint of Guinness?" The rest of the gang nodded.

"I'm so sorry, DCI Hunt, but we just had our last set of Lasagna ordered, we don't have anymore of that."

"Who the bloody hell ordered that!" Gene scoffed as he turned around when Oliver looked at the direction right at the bar counter. Gene after looking at that direction uncomfortably sat back while the rest of the gang continued to look on.

It was Alex, apparently with her bob haircut intact, wearing some pretty revealing apparel that bordered on the line of sexy and prozzie, but yet one must say her looks definitely don't seem like one prozzie.

"Pretty lady over there, snatched your Lasagna!" Drew immediately pointed out.

"Yes, Danny Boy, what do you suggest we do then!"

"Well I think I should be able to charm her to join us, after all she's a pretty lonely lady."

"Make my bloody day, Danish kid!" Alex and Gene did not exchange even a glance as Alex sipped yet another fine bottle of Italian wine.

The rest of the gang smiled as the playful DI Jensen decided to take the initiative and got himself out of the seat.

"Hi!" Alex gave Drew a slight smile before going back to her wine, which obviously seemed a great snub much to the gang's raucous laughter.

"Your name?" Drew was not getting a great start to this as Gene merely looks away.

"Alex."

"Quite a name I say, my name's Drew, Drew Jensen."

"Ok." Alex didn't even bother to start talking anything and just continued sipping the wine, a double snub.

"You know I don't think pretty women like you should actually be left alone." Drew smiled.

"You flatterer." Alex didn't even smile, and she looked the least impressed and continued drinking the wine.

"I mean seriously, you're a beautiful piece of…"

"Of what?" Alex asked, though she obviously knew the answer well enough.

"Of Art! In fact you look more like a Picasso painting than a."

"A Masterpiece." Alex had heard too many such comparisons.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying, a masterpiece." Drew thinks he might have the upper hand now.

"You an art fan?"

"Not really, I don't really appreciate such kind of weird art." Drew was being quite frank about that and Alex started to make the conversation more alive.

"Well I don't think we have much in common to talk of then." Alex snaps back as the rest of the gang exchanged winks and smirks around.

"One couldn't be so sure, can't they?" Drew is trying to be optimistic, Alex was proving to be a very tough cookie.

"Tell me what you're interested in besides 22 men chasing after a ball."

"21 actually, with the goalies not chasing after it, and with a referee down there." Drew was mumbling yet again, if he can't seem to find Alex's interests, this mission is as doomed as the Bay Of Pigs.

"Actually quite a lot I must say, I am a gymnast, a person who's somehow very interested in gardening."

"Gardening!" Alex's face started to glow though she made sure she didn't seem too much so.

"Yes, inherited from my mother some green hands."

"He's got the police station to be the garden there!" One of the police officers shouted across as the whole gang broke into laughter.

"That's interesting..," Drew got back the optimism this time.

"So tell me what do you want?" Alex was pretty blunt for a lady, she had mastered the art of putting off potential suitors through such a system since Oxbridge.

"What…" Drew got nervous as usual, once their cover's blown.

"Your friends are looking at you, you must have bet on something…"

"What a perceptive bitch…" Drew muttered, apparently he thought his suave and funny style would win over ladies like he used to but it certainly didn't.

"I'm sorry?"

"No, I'm just saying how bitchy those people out there are."

"Oi!" Katherine shouted across, though Alex indeed heard that Drew was referring to herself.

"True enough, I bet with them that I could get you to sit with them for a drink and meal."

"I appreciate your honesty, and I must say you've impressed me so far." Alex would have actually placed the word not after the word far.

"So is it…" Drew's eyebrows gave a slight signal.

"Well unless you tell me something personal about you, then I might just consider." Alex's emphasis on the word just did turn Drew on a bit now.

"And funny." Alex made a second condition, most men tend to lie at such circumstances, but it depends whether that lie was believable.

"Well, I nearly could have represented Great Britain for Archery."

"Really!" Alex feigned a bit of a surprise, she's heard more lies than that.

"You see I actually was a good archer at school, in fact I was to participate in selection of good archers for the national team." Alex signalled him to continue, Drew's story was slightly better than the rest.

"I went to the trials, and I did the most stupidest thing of my life?"

"What was that."

"I shot the coach."

"No Way!"

"Yeah, the coach was standing behind the line, and I just accidentally shot his face and of course I didn't get in to the archery team obviously."

"You did pass your arms test, did you?"

"Barely…."

"Well then, you've impressed me enough to join your gang and help you win the bet!" Alex knew she didn't have much time left and apparently she was getting impatient to know the rest of them instead of some Danish liar who hasn't shown his true colours, that story was too farfetched.

"Hi!"

"Hi!" The rest of the gang exchanged greetings while Gene obviously gave an ignorant glance.

"These are?"

"My colleagues, Alex, Phyllis, Katherine, Benito, and my boss Gene."

"I think it should be DCI Hunt." Gene gave a very blunt retort.

"So I've got the sweet pretty lady here." Drew was getting slightly carried away now.

"Yeah, and I'm eating the sour dough." Phyllis gruffly replied.

"Where's you're going, Guv." Katherine asked as Gene got himself out of the seat.

"To have a quiet moment with Phyllis Dobbs, I need to speak to her!" Phyllis knowingly also got herself out of the chair.

"Well your boss is a very uncouth one eh, Drew?"

"Rude, and at times a bastard." Benito added on.

"He treats women like sex objects and secretaries and thinks that Benito and Drew here are acting as too smart."

"The point is we're smart." Drew smirked, and the conversation soon turned to one about Gene Hunt during the days after Alex and company left.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, WPC Dobbs?" Gene immediately got to the point when he and Phyllis were out of Oliver's.

"Youre supposed to be at Hyde, or somewhere else, not bloody Fenchurch East!"

"Well, DCI Hunt, I was instructed to be sent here to assist you."

"Assist me in what, filing cabinets!"

"Assist you and the new guardian, to which I have no apparent knowledge of."

"You sound like radio soddin four's librarian of the week!"

"Who's the new Guardian?"

"You will know soon, Phyllis, and by the way I don't want you to come in and take over the things."

"I will only take over the front desk, that's what I know for now!" Phyllis sharpened her pencil as Gene irritably went back into the bar.

"You know, he just drives me nut by asking me Tea, 5 sugars." Katherine was ecstatic as she tried to feign a Gene Hunt expression.

The conversation was one of laughs and cheers as Alex recounts the boss who also seemed like a pighead but actually isn't though obviously no one got the fact that Alex worked under Gene.

"Lunchtime's Over, you lazy twats, Caldwells and Stewarts are fighting again."

"The victim's family?"

"Yes, Danny Boy, now get ourselves in that bloody Mercedes and out of this bloody bar!" As the rest of the gang left, Gene gave a slight wink at Alex, acknowledging her presence. Alex returns with a slightly nodding head with the glass of unfinished wine still at hand.


	7. Chapter 7

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Here's Chapter 7, Please read and review, it's a pretty long one, and about the crime of the day. **

It didn't take Gene and the gang long enough till they reach the area where the disturbance broke out.

"You bastard killed my bloody son!" Cried one of the Scottish old man who had a green cap on.

"Oh Yeah, you Celtic Cock! Me Rangers never do anything wrong, not like you pricky old fool!" The other Scottish old uncle apparently was no pushover either as both gangs started a mass brawl.

What was peculiar was this mass brawl was more of catfights and punches mixed up together. It wasn't those brawls in which street gangs often get themselves in. It was more of a clan affair!

"Hey guys, just calm down, we're police!" Drew calls for calm as Benito got in the way asking them for restraint.

"Holy Caldwell,you got the bloody police!"

"No I didn't you twat, come on lads lets fight those soddin cuckoos out of this street, yeah!"

"BANG!" Gene fired a shot up into the air as both clans immediately stopped.

"What is this, the bloody rumble in the concrete jungle!" Gene placed back his pistol as Benito and Drew immediately split the two gangs together.

"He killed my son!" Harry Caldwell pointed his fingers straight into Roy Stewart's face.

"Watch that mouth will you Caldwell, don't keep blaming me for any death here!"

"I can blame you for the death of my father at least!" Harry Caldwell screamed in fury as he wanted to punch Roy Stewart again.

"Your father died because he couldn't beat us to it!" Stewart laughed even louder this time.

"You robbers, you rob the robbers, not rob the police!"

"Now you should watch your mouth." Gene gave a very tight slap into Caldwell's mouth.

"It's fair game, Stewart!"

"Look, it seems that I'm going to take you bloody two for questioning."

"For what!"

"For the attempted burglary of the mansion, I like to see both family clans in the police station for some good roya metropolitan l police rocking!" Gene shouted back at Roy Stewart as the police vans came to the rescue.

Fenchurch East Police Station.

The police station was now crowded with both gangs in the police station and obviously most of them had to be processed quickly.

"I don't want to hear your family history for the 6th time!" Katherine shouted at one of the Stewart women.

"No…No…., I know he did it, you don't need to repeat that anymore!" Benito on the other end couldn't bear the Caldwells' making the accusations for the umpteenth time.

", when was the last time you met your son?" Drew and Gene were now questioning the head honcho of the Caldwell clan.

"9pm last night."

"Where?"

"My house, Sir, my whole family can testify to that!"

"Did you know why your son ended up in the mansion of Roger Sung?"

"I have no idea, Sir, no idea!"

"Harry! I think you stop playing bloody stupidity for us, because you have been a real nasty robber that might have made good sometime, but I think you're still pretty nasty for one!" Gene pinned down Harry's head violently.

"I HAVE NO IDEA, DCI HUNT!" Harry Caldwell screamed as he looked very perplexed as to what will happen.

"OH I BET YOU DO, HARRY!" Gene roared back as he stopped pinning down Caldwell's head.

On the other hand, Roy Stewart seemed a more confident person and definitely as confident as a brave murderer in the police station ever will be.

"Where were you, Stewart, out there robbing another bastard's house without ever getting caught."

"Look! DCI Hunt, I have quit the business long time ago, stop raking up the bloody past will you."

"Well apparently your eternal foe's youngest son has been killed."

"I don't think you're expecting me to rejoice at a fellow human's death, are you." Roy Stewart chuckled, obviously he didn't really mean it.

"Where were you on, October 24th, 1983!" Benito slammed the table as a way to intimidate Roy Stewart, forgetting the date and time which is predictably similar to Ray during his great inquests.

"_Where were you on December 27__th__, 1978!" Ray slammed the table, the suspect in question seemed to be a hapless fellow who got caught doing the wrong act at the wrong time. Gene meanwhile was walking around, waiting to give the order to Ray to do some good old beating!_

"_I was at Fenchurch East Police Station here, DS whoever you are!" The criminal seemed pretty bemused._

"_Where were you on December 27__th__, 1978!" Ray just continued, while Gene looked somewhat surprised though he didn't really show it._

"_Raymondo, a word." _

"_What the bloody hell you thinking, what day is it!"_

"_December 28__th__!"_

"_Are you bloody pissed or what?" Ray looked so stupid out of a sudden._

"_What, Guv?"_

"_Today is December 27__th__!" Phyllis passed a note from the coroner's office to Gene._

"_You know what, I should put a City calendar in the room right in front of the door before you enter there and make a bloody fool of yourself" ._

"He meant October 23rd." Gene uncharacteristically corrected Benito

"Rangers Fan Club General Meeting, where I'm the bloody Chairman here." Roy was as proud as he was over Rangers were.

"You bloody Ranger! I kind of now love the bloody celtic!" Gene replied.

"Suits you, but I didn't kill anybody, you could ask more than three thousand fans in the fan club and they will say I was with them that whole night, DCI Hunt." Gene pissed off with Roy's look went out and slammed the door.

"One of you, call the Rangers Fan bloody Club and ask about Roy's bloody Alibi!"

"Any suspicious character, Miss Kathy?"

"Not really, Guv, they all seem like enemies out there, but no motive for murder from the stewarts…"

"What!"

"No motive, Guv, they don't seem quite likely the people to kill and chop Caldwell…." Katherine continued, while Gene went back to his office and apparently got himself a glass of whisky.

"What do you intend to do?"

"Let Harry Caldwell stay with us for a while, he's not saying any bloody truth here!"

"Guv." Phyllis was now standing at the office doors.

"What is it, Dobbs!"

"Well the lawyer's here."

"Fine! Who the bloody hell is the lawyer!"

"Alexandra Price! Price and Associates!" Alex marched into Gene's office and spectacularly places her bag on Drew's desk.

"A posh lady tart being the lawyer of the day, folks!" Gene was authentically surprised with the disguise of the day and immediately fired a salvo at Alex. His face sort of betrayed that emotion as he scans the lady lawyer whose wardrobe seemed outrageously lavish.

"What you have just said, DCI Hunt, I could gladly sue you for defamation and sexual harassment!"

"Sexual harassment, oh bugger me, it's not as if you've never seen a dirty bloody copper here eh!"

"Yes, and I am here to represent Mr. Harry Caldwell to bail him out."

"He's been arrested, Miss Price for allegations of robbery at the Sungs' mansion." Drew added on, knowing that Alex was now being the bitch of the year.

"I'm sorry!" Alex immediately shouted in surprise as the other officers were now scowling at her literally along with Gene.

"We believe he might have been with his son in robbing the Sungs' mansion."

"And maybe murder." Benito crisply added on.

"As far as I know it, it's totally absurd DCI Hunt, that without evidence, you're arresting a poor old man who's just lost his child and apparently for his robbery and even his own murder!"

"Well Miss Price, fathers do kill sons just like lawyers do kill police officers!" Gene was now arguing with Alex.

"I think I should now be with my client, for police officers like you, DCI Hunt are one of the most violent, rude coppers that should have been put into jail not us poor innocent folk!" With that Alex got her handbag and immediately stormed out of the office leaving Gene seething with anger.

"What are you guys looking at, GO GET THE BLOODY EVIDENCE!" Gene roared as the rest of the team got back to work.

Interrogation Room

", where were you on the night of 23rd of October, 1983?"

"I was in my house, watching Celtic go against Motherwell!"

"Liar!" Gene declares as a perplexed Katherine continues the questioning.

"You were with your son James, and you were planning a heist with him to rob the Sungs' mansion."

"What Sungs' mansion, what you're talking about!"

"As far as I know it, bloody Caldwell, you and Stewart are known to rob rich people, especially those who are not as white as your bloody face!"

"That's quite rude of you, DCI Hunt!" Alex was sitting with her hands crossed as she gave a glare at Gene.

"So like I said, where were you that night!"

"I was…"

"You don't have to answer that question, ." Alex shot back and immediately shut himself up.

"Look!" Gene was about to continue by pinning the man's head down.

"I do believe DCI Hunt, and um DC Hill, that you are asking questions that have been repeated, and you are asking in such a way that it is no different from a Nazi torturer!"

"Did you know why your son was at the mansion?"

"I…"

"You don't have to answer that question, ."

"Oi! Bol…." Gene was about to scream Bolly at Alex, but decided against doing so when Alex gave an even more furious glare at him.

"Bol…locks!" Gene and Katherine immediately went out of the office, though Katherine didn't seem like a sidekick of sorts.

"I'm asking to bail out of here, he is in no way prepared to receive any police interrogation."

"What a bloody joke." Drew entered the room.

"Well besides me calling me being a perceptive bitch, DI Jensen, I expect more gentlemanly behaviour from modern young coppers like you." Alex shot back as she and took their leave.

"Meanwhile, I will be filing a complaint to the superintendent over how bad and inefficient this CID division in Fenchurch is." Alex gave a last salvo before getting WPC Dobbs to do the bailing procedure.

"This Soddin bitch is killing me!" Drew shouted as he slammed the table down again in the office, careful not to let Miss Price hear it.

"We need to get Caldwell, he knows where his son is, and his son definitely has something to do with the father!" Drew was pretty confident over this.

"Yes, but what about the Stewarts…" Katherine asked

"I've checked with the club, Stewart was with the club and in fact very drunk too…."

"Right! Let's get more evidence to pin down this Harry Caldwell and show it to that bi…bloody lawyer's face!" Gene didn't want to use the other familiar term, and instead using bloody. It's Alex, after all.

Caldwell House

"Thank you, Miss Price, for your help." Harry Caldwell signalled his wife Norma to get her a cup of tea with biscuits.

"It isn't a problem for me, , I have dealt with even more ruthless coppers than that."

"Let me introduce my family to you…." Harry got up as members of the clan began to gather at the small house.

"These are my children here, John, William, their missus, and my grandchildren out there…." As the introductions continued, along with the different titles in the clan, one knew that the Caldwell family was a pretty huge family from Scotland. There were plenty other relatives and friends around but none looked prominent in this family.

Alex immediately surveyed their faces and body language to sort out those who seem more different than the others. Apparently the youngsters were more shy though in their hearts pretty rebellious, The adults were definitely more mature and obviously more uncouth than their children.

", I need to ask you some questions…"

"Why sure, as long as you're not the police, I can very well answer them to the best of my knowledge." Harry smiled, and Alex thought that he didn't seem like a bad robber.

"Do you have any idea why James was there?"

"I know…." Alex decided to explain as the old Harry's children, were now looking quite sceptical of her.

"Well Miss Price, I don't have much of a clue to why he was there, and I couldn't answer the questions those police gave to me."

"As far as I know, , that might be the questions the prosecution will be asking if they're pressing charges against you and you r family members." Harry turned to look at the clan members, most of them were still staring at Alex though the teenagers themselves were turning their heads elsewhere which Alex smartly noted in her mind.

"Um, I really have no idea, Miss Price. What about you all? Jean?"

"I have no idea, Grandpa." Jean was one of those who looked a bit more nervous than the rest of them.

"How was James in terms of his character."

"Same as old Caldwells will ever be, street-smart but never as good as Derek." The Caldwells' second son William gruffly said as his wife was a picture of grimace and mourning.

"Derek, my eldest grandson, very clever lad, he's got himself into Oxbridge!" Harry's face lit up as he talks about his eldest grandson who was now blushing red though his other siblings never really respected him, Alex could tell that from their expressions.

"You mean his academics…"

"Poor like mine, seems fit to be a thief like the rest of us!" Harry laughed.

"You're not planning a heist, are you?"

"Nah, we stopped doing the business a long time, Miss Price, you don't need to worry." John replied with a bit of sarcasm in his tongue.

"How did it all start, I mean between you and the Stewarts…"

"Don't get me started!" Harry roared and soon he began his family history which started out like how usual feuds have started, both ancestors were friends until one killed another and then blood started to flow, a Shakespearean drama at its best.

"Why do you believe the Stewarts will want to kill James?" Alex asked as Harry sipped his cup of tea after giving a long story of the feud.

"To make a statement!"

"Dad!" One of the grandchildren Norma's voice soon started.

"Shut up! They just want us to bloody know that the feud is on, and that war shall continue from this instant!"

Many members of the clan soon started to agree, though the younger ones seemed less patient.

"Well I could offer some assistance."

"You mean in terms of non-legal?"

"I have some contacts within the police force and some private investigators, I will get them to help investigate your grandson's death."

"You are very kind, Miss Price!" Harry held her hands pretty firmly as Alex gave a shy yet reassuring smile.

"I shall take my leave now!" The senior members of the clan immediately stood up as Alex stands to take her leave.

"Norma, Jean! Send the guest out for me, will you!" Harry shouted as the two young teenagers got themselves at the door.

"Yes, Grandpa!" As Alex walked out of the Caldwell House, she knew that somehow she had aroused some suspicion from the Caldwells especially when she made the statement of contacts within the police force. But she knows this was a sordid tale of two families.

She still had more to worry over Gene's coordination with his new family, especially when she could break his team's case within seconds by just being a hardline spitfire lawyer like her mother.


	8. Chapter 8

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 8

_**Author's Note: This is the 8**__**th**__** Chapter of this story, plenty of Galex and plenty of plot here. Please Read and Review, Thanks!**_

Alex's worries proved correct as Gene and his team scramble to find evidence to pin Harry Caldwell down for the death of his grandson and maybe even the burglary.

"I'm still thinking that it was that bloody old Harry that killed his own grandson!"

"What's the motive, Danny Boy!" Gene was getting frustrated, he was definitely for the fact that it must have been Roy Stewart's clan behind the murder. His lieutenants all think otherwise.

Gene's eyes flashed a huge sense of anguish, frustration. It is quite apt to describe him as Nixon in Watergate. In Crisis.

"_Guv! I don't think that's right." Ray was now firing back at Gene, something quite rare to see._

"_Why!"_

"_Look it at this way, Guv, if Frankie was to steal the cash and run back and get his fallen comrade, wouldn't he be wasting more time than to actually flee the scene!" Alex was now supporting Ray at this one._

"_Frankie is a lying bastard who would rather go take the money and leave, Guv." Ray continued._

"_My good old copper's hunch is under bloody attack again!"_

"_Well stop being so pigheaded about it, will you Guv! Frankie is innocent, he was there to…"_

"_To what!" Gene shouted back, awaiting Alex to shut up._

"_To just deposit money into his bank account." Gene laughed as if it was a naïve thought._

"_That Frankie is bloody not innocent, he is one of them behind this!" Gene declares as Ray and Alex quite apparently looking visibly frustrated._

"_Guv, what if you're wrong?"_

"_I am never wrong, Drake."_

"No!" Gene felt terrible out of a sudden, very terrible and anger was now blooming into epic proportions.

"Why would Roy Stewart, a man who has just been elected Rangers fan club chairman, with loads of money actually want to kill a young lad from the Caldwells!"

"Because they're old rivals, Jensen!, They're not old pals here you know, their feud is as long as Churchill thinks the world war is damn britain's finest hour!"

"I agree with Drew, Guv." Benito seconds Drew's motion, adding to the frustration.

"Me too, it doesn't make sense that Roy Stewart actually would kill a young lad, and he's definitely not burgling the house since he's now pretty rich!" Katherine made a careful observation.

No! NO! You've bloody got it all wrong!" Gene screamed, this was the worse time he's ever had. Alex, Raymondo, Chris, and not even Shaz would gang up each other and made such a spectacular opposition towards his own idea!

The rest of the team decide to shut up for now, WPC Dobbs signalled that the Guv might just simply implode.

"Dobbs, where the bloody hell are the files I want from the Caldwells and Stewarts!"

"They're here Guv!" With that Phyllis smacks a full mountain of files with the Caldwells and Stewarts.

"This is from Fenchurch East or…"

"Fenchurch, obviously, it dates up to the 1950s!" One full layer of dust had enveloped most of the original files.

"Imagine the amount in Edinburgh…" Drew was obviously now taken aback from the mountain of files he has to process and read.

"It will be a bloody public library, has it been separated?"

"Yes." Phyllis went back to her work desk.

"Right! Let's fire up the reading of files, shall we!" Gene then decides to march into his office.

"Guv, I think we're still right, the Caldwells are behind this one." Drew defiantly stands up, along with the rest of the team.

"IN my office." Gene snarls as Drew unsuspectingly enters the office.

"_IN my office." Gene snarls at Sam, who didn't seem the least pleased with his boss now. The first time Sam entered the office turned out to be a great disaster._

"_Guv!"_

"_You went down to the bloody Commissioner."Gene was hissing with pure revolting fury._

"_Why not? We could…"_

"_We could what! What if I told you that bloody Commissioner bullshit was a fake one huh!"_

"_He's not a fake!"_

"_YES HE IS."_

"_I don't agree with you on that, Guv."_

"_Listen, you just bluntly defied my bloody authority, you just did it in front of the whole bloody gang!"  
_

"_I'm just saying."_

"_You are a DI, not a DCI here!" Gene declares as he sees Sam gets out of his office. Chris and Ray looking slightly worried over the Guv._

"You're questioning my bloody authority, isn't it?" Gene was remarkably calm this time round as he sips a glass of whisky.

"No, I'm just saying my point of view, that Harry Caldwell definitely is involved in the murder of his grandson?"

"Why is that so?"

"Because he's been dodgy during the questions especially when he got cover by the bitch lawyer out there, and as far as I can tell now, the way Caldwell was executed was definitely something similar to how Harry Caldwell's traitor's death." Gene would have voiced his most fiery anger when he called Alex a bitch but yet again he needed to calm himself down.

"You think Harry Caldwell's still in the business?"

"Yes I do believe so."

"He isn't! He's not had a case since bloody soddin 1974!" Gene remarked bluntly.

"Well…."

"WELL! YOU SHOULD SHUT UP AND READ THOSE FILES AND THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU BLOODY TALK!" Gene screamed and pushed Drew up the wall violently similar to how Sam first had his meeting with Gene.

"_What if…"_

"_No What ifs, Bolly!" _

"_But…"  
_

"_You must trust Ray, he's a DI now!" Alex whispered as Gene saw a slightly dejected Ray sitting on his desk with a cigarette._

"_Raymondo!"_

"_You go check on Cal then." Ray immediately flashes a slight grin and a good look at Alex as he says "Aye, Guv!"_

"_You know Bolls, you'd better be right on this." Gene was now keeping his voice down._

"_Everything will be fine." Alex assures him as she joined Ray and Chris out of the door._

Drew leaves the office by slamming the door, Gene could barely hear an anti-Gene tirade sounding out outside the office

"Katherine, Tea 8 Sugars!" Gene commanded as he himself is in the outer office now.

"Guv, I'm a DC, not a constable here!"

"_Guv, I'm not your…"_

"_What is it now, Essex Girl, you're a lady here, now get the tea, come on!" Gene commanded as Shaz obliged though obviously not very happy of being a tea lady. Gene flashed a victorious smirk, seems like he's got a new tea lady in Shaz Granger._

Gene didn't voice out his fury and in a huff left the whole Fenchurch East. He was now having a terrible headache, it seems that the tale of the old family of Chris, Ray and Shaz or even Sam for that matter now will never be retold for this batch.

Alex was walking back to her makeshift office of Price and Associates, well it was definitely created by her for the purpose of investigating this case, and also her own disguise for the day.

"Miss Price!" It was one of the Caldwell kids, Norma.

"What is it, Miss Caldwell?"

"Norma."

"Norma, want a cup of coffee in my office?"

"Sure…" Norma seemed pretty nervous to Alex, as Alex walked up the stairs to one of those shophouses.

"Pretty small office you have."

"One-woman firm." Alex quips as she got herself sitting in the chair.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Alex was more approachable than most of the lawyers Norma has ever seen.

"I'm just wondering if I could confide in you about a secret." Norma was getting more and more tense.

"What secret?" Alex signalled Norma to go on as she pretends to be involved in some paperwork writing.

"You're not recording this down are you?" Norma asks very tensely.

"No I'm not, Norma…" When Alex for being the smart lady always has some recording device at hand had switched on one behind the table and of course her scribbling was actually illegible writing that was also a form of recording.

"It was me and some of my friends who were involved in the Burglary of the whatever house." Alex's eyes lit up as she immediately shuts the door curtains feigning a state of surprise.

"Who else was there?"

"Douglas, Bryan, Jane, James…"

"We snuck in with the Stewarts, we wanted to have some fun, you see…."

"So you just decided to burgle the mansion…" The lawyer didn't sound much surprised and no one would judging from the criminal case files stacked up at Fenchurch East.

"Yes, we did it with the Stewarts…"

"I'm sorry!"

"We don't really care about that soddin rivalry, we wanted to have some fun, so we ganged up together and went to rob the mansion." Alex would love to hear the reaction the old fellows in the two families.

"But who killed James?" Alex got straight to the point.

"I don't know, we hit the butler, we left in separate directions, we didn't want to let the police arrest everyone, you know!" Norma was now edging near breaking point as she furiously tried to recollect whatever memories of the incident.

"Look! I can keep this secret for you, it's illegal, but I shall do that for you, client confidentiality." Alex assured the poor weeping girl.

"Thanks, Miss Price, I need to go now, lest my father suspects me up to no good." Alex smiled and opened the door as Norma left the makeshift office.

Alex shut the recording Dictaphone and wiretapping device, should she give this to Gene and land all the youths in hot soup without knowing who actually killed James, or keep it a secret for the time being as she tactfully questions the rest of the youngsters.

It was evening, and Alex decides to leave back to her apartment, not the one at Oliver's, but the one she co-shares with Gene.

As she walks back to her apartment, (No car obviously) there were people seemed to be watching her but apparently Alex took little notice of it, she continued as she walks back to her apartment, she was stunned to see a hell pissed Gene's red Mercedes speeding across the roads back to the apartment.

"Bolly! Get in!" Gene was out of the red Mercedes as Alex swiftly moved back to their apartment.

"Well Bolly, I'm surprised that you new disguise is apparently a lawyer bitch similar to your mother!"

"I'm sorry!" Alex took off her handbag and immediately began preparing dinner, she was starving.

"I mean spitfire lawyer, whatever the bloody hell means!" Gene was slightly furious now, apparently speeding across the streets of London still didn't cool him down.

"Well I needed to do so in order to look at your team!"

"That was bloody convincing!"

"How do you find them?" Gene was now slouching in his sofa, the problem was he had no whisky or wine at hand, and was now clutching his hands pretty tightly like as if in prayer.

"They are all smart fellows, and apparently you have never coped well when we left."

"Tea with 9 sugars! Gene, what were you thinking!" Alex continued.

"I need some sugar running in my blood besides alcohol." Gene sounded more logical this time, though it didn't seem logical.

"Yes, you'll get Diabetes, and Kat is a DC, not Shaz!"

"I know…." Gene mumbled though he still couldn't get it actually.

"And what do you think Benito is, a beater for you like Ray!"

"Well Bolly, some bastards need some soddin beatin!"

"Yeah, you apparently asked the wrong guy, that guy for no matter how big and burly he is, he's not Ray!" Alex had her apron on and was cooking dinner.

"What's for dinner?"

"Simple Fish and Chips, didn't have the time to buy groceries here."

"Right, and now I'm at bloody odds with all of them!"

"What did you do?"

"I said the Stewarts were behind this, but apparently they think it was the Caldwells, Miss Price!"

"All of them."

"ALL of bloody them." Gene switched on the small television and out came another re-run of Morecambe and Wise.

"Well I have got some news for you?"

"Yeah, the Caldwells?"

"According to one of the girls in the family, it had nothing to do with those old buggers there." The kitchen now smelled weird with onions and vegetables that didn't seem to link with fish and chips.

"What the…"

"Apparently the young in both families are friends…"

"Friends, what an awful thought, it's like getting bloody IRA shake hands with bloody Ian Paisley! The Edinburgh and London Police will go sing God Save The Queen!" Gene chuckled, he was picturing Harry Caldwell and Roy Stewart shaking hands.

"They eventually did, Gene."

"Yeah over my dead body!" Both Gene and Alex smiled knowingly this time.

"Well I can start arresting those young monkeys and get some rollocking like how we did to bloody Harry and soddin Roy!"

"Not now, Guv."

"Don't call me that…."

"I'm undercover as their lawyer, you don't want me to be killed by the Caldwells!"

"Right." Gene decided that he had enough of arguing today, he just wanted to have some peace and quiet with Alex.

"You know, Bolly, when Raymondo and bloody Chris were around…"

"They never openly defied you and followed instructions…" Alex continued the sentence.

"The problem is Gene, you need to get used to this new family. The old family of Ray, Chris and Shaz, those days are gone…."

"Wrong, I still have one old family member here." Alex grinned while Gene attempted a slight smirk, though it was definitely not a very genuine one in agreement.

"When are you going to assume the guardianship, Bolls?" Gene wanted to divert the subject, Alex knew it immediately. Gene was being like Molly now, whenever her report card's out.

"Pretty soon, once my cover's broken or once this case is over, Guv, can't wait." Alex smiled, she decided that Gene's rough day should not be aggravated.

"So do I, Phyllis has been instructed to keep an eye for both of us."

"The old lady out there."

"Yeah, she's also a Guardian, apparently they bumbled her transfer papers and ended up in my patch."

"Well Gene, you will have to get used to the passing of the old, and the arrival of the new." Alex placed the two plates of fish and chips on the table as Gene happily dissects the fried golden fish out.

"Oh God, Bolls…"

"Yes there is vegetables in it, it's fish with vegetables inside it plus chips."

"What the bloody hell, I'd rather go to Olie…."

"Oh come on, eat your greens will you,"

"Gene Genie eating greens, Neva, Not the Gene Genie!" Gene declares, at least he was now enjoying Alex's company.

"Do I need to be your mother now, Gene!"

Alex got her apron off and as both of them tucked in to their dinner with Alex nearly force-feeding Gene the greens.

"You know Gene, you have a problem."

"What problem." Gene didn't ask, he needn't as Alex immediately fired the answer.

"You need to get yourself prepared for a new era now. This is a different team."

"Family." Gene was a picture of a man in crisis yet is trying to rough the storm.

"You know when I had a new office, I had that same feeling, new people, nobody knows you."

"Like how you were in 1981." 

"Exactly, Gene, you've done this for so many times, you can do it again." Gene didn't tell her that this was the first time he's sent all souls under his custody right up to heavens in one shot.

"Bolly, things are never that simple, and if you're bloody suggesting I see a shrink, you can rather ask me to go support United!"

"I am a shrink, Gene!" Alex reminded him of her other specialist abilities.

"Alright, so now I'm stuck in a con-"

"Consultation." Alex smiled again, Gene pursed his lips as he held that glass of whisky, it was cold and bitter.

"Right Consultation's over, bedtime's up!" Alex made a cheery smile as she made sure Gene placed his glass down.

"Sound's promising, Bolls."

"Takes some time nowto prepare, Guv." Alex gave a cheeky grin as she gets prepared for bedtime and leaves Gene alone for the sofa.

Gene knew that of all this depression poofy cloud going on around him, those memory flashbacks… But he still has Alex to rely on.

That was the only part of the good old days he enjoys now.


	9. Chapter 9

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 9

**Author's LONG Note: Chapter 9's up, special thanks to Sash Queen Of The Jungle for her constant reviews, and to all my readers who have continued to read this story. **

**Speed of uploading this story would definitely be slower than the original story Infiltration (you could leave a review there if you like), as this story takes more time to develop and churn out.**

**I do hope for more reviews to come, suggestions on how the story should go now, perhaps? Anyway to all of you reading now, Thanks! **

Alex was at her second day as the undercover spitfire lawyer representing the dear Caldwells. Apparently the inspiration was none other then from her mother Caroline. It does seem sure that Alex has indeed taken some good legal genes from her parents.

She was now walking back to that makeshift one-woman office of hers. A humble office situated at the upper floor of a shophouse. The lower floor was made empty, Alex made sure no one ever stepped into her office unless she said so.

"Oh, I would love to get on the Mercedes!" Alex rued as she walked the street with high killer heels which did hurt somehow.

The sun was bloody scorching, and that fair weather prompted Alex to bring an umbrella along with Sunglasses in tow.

Just as she was about a few steps away from her office, some hooded man ran towards her. Alex wasn't sure about the man's intentions. A hooded man running usually means a quick knife attack or a bloody spill of pig's blood or whatsoever. Alex immediately used that umbrella and opened it.

It wasn't to her surprise that the hooded attacker threw a pot of red unidentifiable ink that turned her white umbrella blood red. Alex knew that within a few seconds, that hooded attacker will sprint off, she closed the umbrella, only to get a second pot spilled at her.

"Aah!" This time the hooded attacker made a dash out of the streets. Alex immediately gave chase, with umbrella in tow. But the hooded attacker turned out to be an Olympic sprinter. He was running so fast that if only Shaz, Ray and Chris were planting an ambush along with Gene will that sprinter actually be caught.

"Shit!" Alex panted, she looked at her coat, apparently the second pot didn't have that amount of red ink like the first pot. Alex smelled the coat again, it was pig's blood. Definitely something that had to do with either the Caldwells or the Stewarts.

Within a blink of the eye, she immediately rushed back to that makeshift office, the door was ajar, and the window broken. Just as she entered the lower floor. Menacing pictures of the devil and graffiti were all over the wall.

"JUDAS!" screamed one of the graffitis, and as Alex began to take in the spectacle happening now. She immediately made her way up the flight of stairs which had been badly scratched all over. Alex was now thankful that she had no car, imagine her driving the car and a sudden explosion killing her, not a kind thought.

The office was now officially a total catastrophe, papers were flying everywhere along with the same red and green graffiti everywhere, a lot of red ink spilled over the whole office. Alex was lucky she kept the Dictaphone, but she knew by the time the term traitor had been spelt all along the walls. It was definitely the Caldwells who were behind this. Her cover was blown.

Gene was nursing a hangover still, it didn't happen to him that he would have such a terrible one. Alex had left way earlier than him due to the bloody undercover job.

Gene was eating his breakfast, a ham sandwich that didn't seem the most appetising breakfasts of all. He would have got Luigi to make the breakfast if possible. But Oliver only served lunch in the pub. (No pub in morning, Hunt!)

Gene didn't feel much better even after the breakfast, it was as if he was under a good cold spell. But he himself knew that the Gene Genie was never sick. Definitely not this time.

Gene was now at a chessboard (Alex seemed to like chess more than football) , he hated playing chess, thinking it has always been some old bugger's game for good old buggers. Ray and Chris played it once or twice and often ended up breaking the bloody rules at Luigi's.

"_The King can move wherever he wants!" Ray declares as he gets a chessboard._

"_Can somebody remind me why they're playing a poofy little game called chess here!"_

"_Well some chess champion apparently kindly gave us a ton of chess sets for policemen to play." Ray added on with a poof._

_"Isn't that great, it increases their intelligence." Alex's comment didn't get her in the right side though._

"_Ray, you don't play like that!" Shaz protested, she herself was a chess player._

"_Chris!" Apparently the chess moves got more and more crazy, the horse piece was now becoming a queen, and the queen became a king, both Ray and Chris were sniggering._

"_Right!" Gene trashed the chessboard with the chess pieces all over._

"_Let's go and have the beer, shall we!" Alex and Shaz could only look at each other while Ray and Chris didn't seem irritated, and in fact more happy of not playing Chess now._

Only Alex and Shaz were better players and even if Chris were to play with Shaz. Everyone in the bloody trattoria knew that it would be a victory for Shaz _(Come on Chris, don't give the pieces to Shaz! Ray would exclaim and Shaz would reply Thanks for the gift, Chris!)_ and if Ray were to play with Alex. Alex would make sure no rules broken and a good thrashing ensues. _(RAY!, she would shout like as if she's a headmistress and within a second CHECKMATE!)_But Gene has never played a chess game, bloody never.

But today, Gene was game for chess in a weird way, he placed all the chess pieces neatly and decided that he should be black while his fictional opponent would be white. In the end, Gene was thinking two times around, it was a significance of loneliness.

_"Guv! You don't play this way, it's the king that can kill anywhere!"_ Gene was seeing Ray playing chess, he was at that chair smoking like a train.

"_Thanks for the gift, Guv."_ Gene was now seeing Shaz chirpily taking away one of his chess pieces after Gene makes another tactical error.

"_Bloody hell!"_ Chris was now exasperated as he sees Gene make another masterstroke of chess, it's surprising the both of them that Gene himself could play chess well.

"I'm not that unbeatable…." Gene was now seeing his own reflection playing against himself. One side of Gene was a more happy and more energetic Gene and the other real Gene was now scowling and apparently under huge stress.

"OI!" Gene screamed and all the imaginations and dreams were gone to dust as Gene faces the same chessboard as it was. Gene nearly threw the whole chessboard out but knowing Alex is going to harp on the mess caused, cleaned it up.

"Those good old days…." Gene muttered as he started to get himself active, another day of guardianship awaits.

"Where's your Guv!" Alex stormed into the office, not even waiting for Phyllis to answer the enquiry, Alex had already set foot into the office with the rest of the gang looking at her in shock.

Who would imagine the defence lawyer of the Caldwells receive a bloody treatment, shirt spilled with pig's blood along with the red dripping umbrella. Drew even managed a quiet smirk.

"He's not back yet, why you looking for him." Phyllis was now beside her as she took the red dripping umbrella.

"Well what's the problem, Miss Price?" Benito said in a mocking way that was very uncharacteristic of him as the rest of the gang began to mercilessly laughing at the lady.

"What a bloody Monday, isn't it?" Katherine noted as Alex got more and more furious with the rest of the gang.

"My life is now under threat and yet you coppers can just sit there and do absolutely nothing!" Alex incredulously cried while Drew playfully whistles the "Bloody Sunday" tune by U2 which was followed by the choir of officers joining in. Alex was certainly mightily unpopular with the gang now.

"Well you want life protection." Phyllis was smart enough to divert the topic off Drew's indiscretion and the rest of the gloating.

"Yes, obviously! I think I deserve police protection here." One couldn't tell if Alex was faking it this time, not even a lucid Gene maybe.

"Who asked you to protect those thieves…." Katherine winced as she got herself finishing the paperwork Benito and Drew left behind for her.

"Excuse me, I am a lawyer."

"Well of all the lawyers I've seen, I'm sorry Miss, but you are one real tough bitch!" Drew said it in front of Alex's face, Alex would have given Drew one tight slap, but yet again she knew that she was still undercover and only if Gene arrives will she be able to reveal the cloak. The rest of the gang continued to laugh very badly. Alex now thought if the modern-day coppers are now getting backwards to the 1970s!

"YOU SHALL NOT BLOODY INSULT MY…." Alex sounded more and more like Gene, especially when she was getting more angry.

"Alright, enough of the laughs, guys." Drew called for a full stop as he sat on his own desk.

"Miss Price, there is only one way we could actually protect you from the Caldwells."

"Where!"

"The place where they all hate to be…." Drew gave a wide smile as Alex slowly began to digest what Drew meant.

"You're putting me to…."

"Well for your safety, Miss Price, we need to do so, if you don't mind, we need to take off your…." Alex signalled Drew to continue.

"Your umbrella, clothes maybe later, but now we need the umbrella as evidence." Phyllis was getting slightly disgusted over Drew's behaviour and both women exited, one obviously in huge anger.

"I've never did that to a lawyer until now!" Shouted a triumphant Drew, he must have had his fair share of ugly attorneys spitting all over him, he felt immensely liberated.

Gene was now back in his office, Phyllis was about to explain what happened to Miss Price when he stormed back into his office and took over the flipchart.

Gene immediately slashed out the whole piece of paper.

"Guv! What are you doing?" Benito asked

"Benito, I think we need to restart this bloody investigation!"

"We've got evidence that the Caldwells were behind it!" Drew protested.

"Katherine, get me coffee 6 sugars!"

"She's not your…"

"Right, Danny Boy, no arguments will you, I want to start off this day brightly since I am that bloody late!" Gene smiled unnervingly at Drew who immediately got the hint.

"Talking about bloody, Guv…"

"What is it,Benito!"

"The Caldwells lawyer, got spilled blood all over, requesting police protection." Gene looked genuinely shocked this time.

"What the bloody…."

"WPC Dobbs, I will like to inspect the cells please." It was Detective Superintendent Harrison, a man who liked to snoop around the CID department at times.

"Yes, Sir." Phyllis decided that this time the cells should be cleaned up by now except for the bloody woman.

Phyllis was now rushing out, she wanted Harrison not to see a woman filled with blood, asking for police protection to end up in the cells and the last time she wanted was the Super to ask her questions which she couldn't answer.

"Why you're so fast! WPC Dobbs!" DSI Harrison was walking gently although he didn't sound very gentle for a superior and more or less looked like a Lord.

"Well…."

"You in a hurry?"

"No." Phyllis managed a fake but authentically nervous grin.

"Wait a minute." The dreaded moment finally arrived, with DSI Harrison now peering into the cell.

"Isn't that Miss Price from Price and Associates?" DSI Harrison knew the lawyers around Fenchurch East well enough to be awarded best copper from the London Lawyers Club.

"Why's she here."

"Well she was attacked and she requested protection so…."

"So!" DSI Harrison was now getting more and more angry.

"The CID were busy, and thus."

"Open the cell now!" DSI Harrison commanded as Alex looked up after seeing DSI Harrison at the cell window.

"DSI Harrison." Alex immediately exchanged a salute with Harrison, much to the surprise of Phyllis.

"Well Miss Price, it's time you show your true colours, eh."

"With all respect, DSI Harrison, it better not be red." Alex had already changed her clothes ("They're not dead women's clothes, just some storage I kept when I was working somewhere else" Phyllis noted)apparently courtesy of Phyllis as Phyllis looked absolutely flabbergasted as Alex made her way out of the cell…


	10. Chapter 10

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Chapter 10 is out, please read and review! Updating speed will be slower than usual, as I have a funeral to take care of. **

"You took Miss Price to the cells!" Gene exclaimed in horror as the rest of the gang didn't seem to mind.

"Well we were busy at the moment, and we…."

"So you decided to put her in a bloody prison cell till you guys can finally solve the case!"

"That's right." Benito replied, indeed there was a lack of manpower in the CID force.

"By the next minute, she could have been killed by one of those bloody Caldwell's lads lurking in the prison!" Gene now began to raise his voice.

"Alright, Guv." Drew now apparently after suffering that bout of sadistic hysteria, somehow a bit of coffee and some harsh Gene-talk woke him up.

"I'm sorry, we were just playing a joke."

"A Joke!" DSI Harrison stepped into the office, and the rest of the officers immediately stood up, the DSI was hell recognisable with his police decorations, his decorations include a Queen's Medal earned in Northern Ireland.

"Sir…." Gene immediately knew he had to defend this bunch of rats like how he used to defend Ray and Chris.

"_This is atrocious, how could you allow one of your lads to just beat the prisoner till he's now utterly comatose!" DSI Stratton was screaming at Gene, and he wasn't one foot near the small office of his._

"_Sir, it was that twat who started hitting us first." It was Chris who was now trying to defend his actions._

"_So you're saying that the prisoner decided to escape, and so you had the right to beat them to kingdom come."_

"_They're scum." Ray took a cigarette and smoked it, this was going to be a bad day._

"_Hell I know that, DS Carling, but when you beat scum to hospitals, you get D&C choking you like Vito Corleone!" _

"_At least I'm not one Mccluskey."_

"_What!" DSI Stratton knew the reference of a corrupt copper, especially one from a Coppola film._

"_You know I'm supposed to be promoted to somewhere else, now I think I might be asked for early retirement!" DSI Stratton hollered as Shaz was unsure whether it was right to prepare a cup of coffee for the stressed-up man._

"_With all due respect, Sir," Gene finally broke his silence, after having a silent cup of whisky as his DSI continued to lambast his crew._

"_Yes, DCI Hunt, you would like to explain for your subordinates…"_

"_Yes, I intend to do so, Sir."_

"_Don't you think it is wrong for them to do so, to actually whack a prisoner in custody till he's now in some King's Cross Hospital waiting for life support to be plugged out of him."_

"_You're exaggerating…" Chris noted DSI Stratton's mastery in exaggeration._

"_Yeah, a few more minutes of that, and he will be that way!"_

"_Sir, that man indeed attacked my fellow officers…."_

"_But I don't expect these people to whack back ten times harder."_

"_With all bloody respect, Sir." Gene could not calm his anger down now, as DSI Stratton became more irritating as the minute goes._

"_That man is a scum, murder suspect, and a dangerous man, he has attacked my copper, and you want my coppers to apologize to such a dangerous scum, it's like asking bloody Skipper to say sorry to Ronnie Biggs!" Gene's outburst soon got DSI Stratton to stop his violent reaction._

"_I've known my team for darn many soddin years, and I can tell you this Sir, that they are not bloody scum, and their job is to fight the scumbag now dying in his soddin hospital bed! If you want to blame that bastard's death on anyone of these people here, I will tender my resignation straight away!" Gene fired back a salvo that he never did, threatening to resign was definitely a tactic that usually doesn't work for smart superiors_, _especially one like DSI Stratton._

"…" _DSI Stratton however knew that DCI Hunt was one of the best DCIs around, and he too didn't like the idea to give in to scumbags. DSI Stratton left the office, no one applauded like Lord Scarman, it was definitely a deafening sort of silence, one that spoke volumes over Gene's fierce loyalty to the team as Ray, Shaz and Chris looked somewhat admirably at him._

"_By the way where's our new DI?"_

"_DI Alex Drake's supposed to report to work today, you didn't receive notice, did you DCI Hunt?"_

"_Nope, but I think I know what to do, Sir." DSI Stratton finally left the office for good._

"_Right! What's our new case."_

"_Some Prozzie boat, got a tip-off from informant, it's The Princess Di."_

"_Let's get ourselves armed, shall we!" Gene marched out of the office, emerging victorious and definitely more heroic._

"What is it, DCI Hunt?" DSI Harrison, Stratton's successor didn't seem as angry and volatile like his predecessor, but one could sense anger from his snarling tone.

"Nothing." Gene didn't know what to say, he had only worked for them a couple of months, and the bond between he and his team doesn't even seem to work.

"Well DCI Hunt, it seems your team is getting WAY out of control!"

"You think it's a joke, a spitfire lawyer who might one day be the attorney general of this kingdom, who knows!" DSI Harrison was more assured of Miss Price's gift of the gab than he was about Gene and his team.

"Sir, it was a pragmatic move to do so." Drew decided to make some logical sense into his actions now, while Kat looked somewhat frustrated just like everyone else in the office, it was very tense.

"Pragmatic, what a pretty word to use." DSI Harrison continued, ignoring Drew's excuse.

"It seems that you guys don't have enough manpower!" DSI Harrison now suddenly turned his anger into a somewhat cold musing.

"Yes, it seems that we need one more here." Gene decided to add on now that the storm was now quite over, he was lucky it wasn't DSI Stratton, that man would make hell out of a teacup.

"Yes, DCI Hunt, since you can't seem to control your officers, I've decided to get help for you."

"You're not transferring him out, are you?" Katherine was nervous about this, she knew that Gene for how bloody bastard he sometimes is as a boss, his efficiency and being a good copper still made her feel safe, not like all those political creatures out there.

"No, DC Hill, just that now your team will have another DCI sitting here." Gene immediately knew the answer but made an expression of feigned shock with his eyes bulged widely open, it can't be Jim Jimbo Keats.

Can it?

"Who will that be, Sir?" Benito asked.

"That will be DCI Alexandra Drake, she will be here shortly." DSI Harrison flashed a nasty smile, as Alex was now beginning to walk into the office.

"Boom!" The door opened pretty wide enough as Alex made her entrance, the radio was switched on to Radio 4, and the music was quite aptly Dvorak's New World Symphony's menacing opening.

"Isn't that Miss Price?" Drew was shocked and so were the rest of their team who could only look in horror as the lawyer they just insulted suddenly became their new boss.

Alex didn't bother to make a greeting, she only smiled back chirpily this time, her hands in her pockets as she got her new clothes prepared, while WPC Phyllis Dobbs could only place her hands on her face. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion, or in this sense it's like watching a whole football team crash in slow motion.

"That was her undercover job, right now I shall leave you to welcome your new co-DCI now, have a good day." DSI Harrison was now quite sure it wasn't going to be a good day.

Gene could only look somewhat flabbergasted, like the rest of the team, the silence was now worse as Alex looked at the radio which was slamming the same chords of that Dvorak New World symphony over and over again. The officer nearby immediately switched it off.

"Hi." Alex decided to make a better impression now as the rest of the team exchanged awkward and meek greetings.

"Morning, Ma'am."

"So as you know, I'm DCI Alex Drake, your new co-DCI for this police division."

"Yes, Bolls, and fancy seeing you here yet again!" DCI Hunt decided to break protocol as the whole gang looked at him now.

"Well Guv, it's been a long time since I've seen you…"

"Not very long, Bolly, I thought you switched profession." 

"You know each other, Guv?"

"Yes, Colchester Girl, she was my DI a year ago, then she was transferred and now she's back as DCI!"

"Why didn't you…" Katherine decided to stop asking the question, afraid to sound even more stupid now.

"Welcome on board, Detective Chief Inspector!" Gene made his usual greeting as he feigned reluctance and struggle for Alex to be the new co-DCI. The rest of the gang applauded albeit awkwardly yet again.

"Now Sha…. Kat, if I don't get my coffee and 8 sugars yet again…" Gene now went back roaring at Katherine, though he stumbled at Shaz yet again.

"Gene, she's a detective constable, not a secretary, go get the coffee yourself!" Alex shot back while Kat managed a quiet smile immediately along with the rest of the crew.

"Right!" Gene went back to his office and grabbed a cup of whisky.

"So how's the investigation now?" All Alex saw was a flipchart that had neat writings but apparently a lot of names crossed out.

"Well, Guv…." Benito suddenly halted, that reference obviously now conflicted with Gene's title.

"Just call me Ma'am will do." Alex smiled back at Benito, the smile was genuine and Benito reciprocated while Drew continues to struggle to accept that he was now going to be the joke of the Met now. Gene meanwhile was back outside looking at Alex controlling the proceedings swiftly.

"Norma Caldwell confessed to me, about the robbery." Alex immediately fished out from her bag a recorder Dictaphone.

"What secret?" Alex signalled Norma to go on as she pretends to be involved in some paperwork writing.

"You're not recording this down are you?" Norma asks very tensely.

"No I'm not, Norma…"

"It was me and some of my friends who were involved in the Burglary of the whatever house.".

"Who else was there?"

"Douglas, Bryan, Jane, James…"

"We snuck in with the Stewarts, we wanted to have some fun, you see…."

"_So you just decided to burgle the mansion…" _

"_Yes, we did it with the Stewarts…" _

"_I'm sorry!"_

"_We don't really care about that soddin rivalry, we wanted to have some fun, so we ganged up together and went to rob the mansion." _

"_But who killed James?" _

"_I don't know, we hit the butler, we left in separate directions, we didn't want to let the police arrest everyone, you know!" _

"_Look! I can keep this secret for you, it's illegal, but I shall do that for you, client confidentiality." _

The recording device stopped, Drew finally finished getting his act together and began to ask.

"It's clear we can go arrest them now." Drew quipped.

"With a recording, DI Jensen, I don't think it's quite possible that another lawyer like me would come thrashing down this police station to upset a bloody copper like you." Alex's retort immediately got some laughs out of the policemen, while Drew just continued looking pretty ashamed.

"What do you suggest then, Ma'am?" Katherine was now sitting on her own desk, she was definitely different than Shaz, who seemed more like a clerical officer.

"I think we should get some more details about them."

"About who?"

"The Caldwells and the stewarts…"

"There's your bloody information, DCI Drake!" Gene declares as Alex began to look at the piles of files sitting around the desks of Benito, Drew and Katherine.

"Well we don't need these." Alex immediately used her hand and swept the mountains of files down the floor. Much to the amazement of the other officers.

"You know we're…." DCI Hunt was about to go on a tirade when Alex interrupted him again.

"What we need is information about the young Stewarts and Caldwells, and I don't believe the archives have information about this."

"I'll go check." Phyllis immediately went off as Gene gave a piercing glance at her.

"Ok, Bolls, but remember do it discreetly, I don't want the both clans to come storming into Fenchurch and get me a bloody hell headache like you did!"

"Right, guys let's get going now!" Alex chirpily smiled as she clapped her hands while Gene signalled her to enter his office.

"Seems like our new boss is getting on the Guv's nerves."

"They a past item?" Katherine was a gossip girl in this sense.

"Nah, don't think so, but who knows, after all she's worked under him before!" Drew gave another flashy grin.

"I think you should apologize to her for your…"

"I know…." Drew's grin immediately switched off as Benito and the rest laughed.


	11. Chapter 11

A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 11

**Author's Note: It's taken me a bit too long for this update, as I was extremely busy with planning a school event. So Here's Chapter 11! Please Read and Review!**

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Gene immediately fired the shots as Alex entered the office.

"Well, I think you need to get help, Gene." Alex was more at a bitchy mode than she intended to now, but a confrontation was somehow going to burst anytime soon.

"What help, not some bloody psychic bollocks here!"

"Well you do need some psychatric help, you're just not merging with your new team." Gene was surprised that Alex could reach a diagnosis within minutes.

"I think you're getting too quick about this?"

"Too quick, you yourself know this Gene, that at this rate you're going to…."

"Oi!" Gene shouted immediately, he didn't want any talk of souls in the bloody office, not within hearing distance for some of the buggers out there.

"Right now, we need to solve this case, Bolls. That's the thing we need to do now."

"Well you have to do something, Gene." Alex was now more agreeable and less irritable than she was, after getting the point that Gene knows what he's doing.

"I know." Gene took a phone call from the office, and got himself seated back as Alex went out of the office.

"Ma'am, the Caldwell youth seems to have more connections than they have with the Stewarts." Alex was now seated right in front of Gene's office, taking over Shaz's desk as Drew started to brief Alex over the newly-found details.

"How so?"

"Well the Caldwells are studying at Fairmont High School, and the Stewarts are studying at Fairway High School?" Alex didn't seem to get the connection until Benito draws out a map, while Katherine circles the school compounds neatly.

"Close distance." Alex quipped as Gene got out of his office to get his caffeine fix himself.

"Yes, which means close interactions I would say."

"Katherine, I want you to go check out the school activities, see if there could have been any point of interaction between both families then."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Drew, Benito, let's go keep watch of those teenagers, they might be up to something once again."

"Bolly, you don't have a car!" Gene stomps back after getting his coffee and slamming it on Katherine's desk.

"Well I'll go get one." Alex quipped as Drew continues to smile alongside Benito over this.

"Where?"

"Your Mercedes, I'll drive…" Gene was about to give a huge smirk.

"You don't have the…." Just as Gene was about to finish the word keys, Alex raised her eyebrows chirpily and showing the keys right in front of Gene's face.

"Oh bloody…." Gene immediately gave chase as Alex and the two other fellows ran to get the Mercedes. Katherine meanwhile took a sneak sip of the coffee, and immediately spit it out. Coffee, 10 sugars, recipe for diabetes.

"Oi! Bolly! You don't get that Mercedes' driving seat there!" Gene's running speed didn't seem much promising as Alex grabbed the driving seat, and Drew takes the second seat. Benito at the back and Gene woefully has to settle too with the back.

"What's the matter with you, Ben!" Benito's face was quite ash-grey as he sits down with Gene at the back seat.

"Well it's weird, Guv, to sit in the car with you, I mean at the back of the car." Drew immediately smiled while Gene decided to look outside.

"And why are you driving so fast!" Gene immediately roared as Alex increased the speed to Gene's neck-breaking mode.

"You're eating your own medicine, Guv." Drew cheekily notes as Alex seems to ignore Gene's roars.

"You know Bolly, another….." The car goes to a screeching halt and soon they found themselves at the junction of Fairmill street, which lies at the back entrances of the Fairmont and Fairway Schools.

"Another what, Gene?"

"Another time you're sitting in this car, I'm going to call the bloody insurance company!" Gene barks as he exits out of the car alongside Alex and the gang, signalling to change seats.

"So Bolly, what's the mission of this bloody surveillance?"

"Well the aim is to observe the Caldwells and the Stewart youths, find for evidence we need."

"Bolly, don't you think we're wasting time over this!" Gene was left grumbling though he was slightly happier after retaining the driver's seat.

"Well Guv, if you want to fall into another Caldwell trap, then I suggest we continue to observe."

"Ma'am." Benito signalled as Alex took out the binoculars and looked out.

"That's one of the Caldwell girls…" Drew quipped.

"That's Norma!" Alex nearly shouted out, though she kept the tone as quiet as possible, they were watching obviously.

"Norma Caldwell and who's the boy over there?"

"I recognize him, one of the Stewarts here."

"Robin Stewart, second eldest son of the Stewarts, seems to be also another bright kid."

"I can't believe it, those two clans are sworn rivals."

"Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet." Alex made a clever inference as Drew immediately gives a wide grin.

"Bolly, I didn't go for bloody Literature !" Gene protested as he snatched the binoculars and continued to look very closely at Norma Caldwell and Robin Stewart, the new couple on the block.

"They're more than good friends, Guv." Benito was stating the obvious.

"Aye, Aye, So what the bloody heaven do we do now, Bolls?" Gene was now having his hands on the driver's wheel, ready to leave.

"We continue to observe." Alex was about to preach patience at this particular point of time. Gene to her surprise nodded, he didn't want to hear Alex preach patience now, definitely not now.

"_You know, Bolly! I'm not going to sit here waiting all bloody day!" Gene protested._

"_Guv's right, Ma'am, We're starving out here!" Chris joined in the protests._

"_We're just looking at a couple of twats and bitches who are about to make love as quick as a bloody bird will!" Ray might seem to have protested but apparently he was enjoying the eye candy._

"_We need more evidence."_

"_What evidence now is it, Bolls, it's not as if bloody Joe Whitley would end up getting out of the street club with a thick wad of cash to spend on some poshy little bird like you." Gene was obviously upset, the fact that he's skipped lunch just to have a stakeout against Joe Whitley, and his favourite cousins have not been very appetising either. _

"_First a bloody little church, Second a wool factory, thirdly a bank, and now we're at the street club at Soho!" Ray continued as he continues to enjoy the eye candy while Alex simply looked elsewhere._

"_I think you should have more patience, Gene! You know patience is a virtue, especially when you're having stakeouts!"_

"_I only know I've skipped lunch and I'm not going to skip Dinner." Gene grumbled._

"_Guv, some chips?" _

"_Good one, Raymondo." Ray always had the wisdom to bring some chips in the car when it's a stakeout, and Gene immediately took his hand into the chips._

"_Joe Whitley's out!" Alex declares, Gene was just about to finish the chips, and along with Ray and Chris bolted out of the car to arrest Joe Whitley, and the criminal did have cash._

"_Guv, some chips?"_

"_Guv some chips?" Ray's familiar voice was getting more and more distant to Gene's ears_

"Guv! Some Chips!" It was Benito holding the Tudor Crisps, not Raymondo.

Gene reacted weirdly this time, he just simply shrugged and turned elsewhere, and didn't accept the chips.

"I thought you would have the chips, Guv." Alex had taken notice of Gene's weird behaviour.

"Don't call me that, Bolly!" Gene immediately snapped back, after all Alex was now the same rank with him.

"Hold on for a second." As Gene drove the car stealthily forward, she observed that the Caldwells and the Stewart youths were gathering together, not all of them, but definitely quite a few of them were around.

"New excursion." Drew quips as he saw the more energetic faces in the Stewarts and Caldwells. Norma however felt slightly uneasy, as if she knew that they were being watched.

"But where?" Alex asked, she was now trying to read the lips of the youths but their Scottish accents and how they move their lips made it quite impossible to decipher, especially for Alex who isn't proficient in lip-reading.

"God bloody knows." Gene declares,though he wasn't ready to arrest anybody.

"Guv, we've got news."

"_Guv, we've got news."_

"_What is it, Granger."_

"_Well apparently we have a police officer trapped in the boat."_

"_May I know who the bloody hell is he!"_

"_Any more details, Granger?"_

"_No!"_

"_ANY More details, Granger?"_

"_I have no idea, Guv, but information from the branches are saying that we have one agent trapped there as undercover, you might want to be…"Gene shut the radio immediately though he could faintly hear the words, "It's a she, Guv!"_

"What news is it, Dobbs!" Gene snapped again, it was as if he just had a knee-jerk reaction.

"There's a body found at 6 Green Street."

"Any more details!"

"No!"

"ANY BLOODY MORE DETAILS, WPC DOBBS!" Gene was at his worst temper.

"No details!"

"I think she said No." Alex immediately pointed out to Gene , though he was still unarguably seething with anger.

"We'll be on our way." Alex replied, immediately taking charge of the walkie-talkie lest Gene starts screaming like a crazy old git.

"_We'll be on our way." Chris noted as the Quattro was speeding and turning around the various streets of London._

"_How the bloody hell did a boat got a name called Princess Di!" Ray asked._

"_Raymondo, if I know, I would become the new bloody Doctor Who!" Gene snarled as Chris laughed a bit._

"_Lots of pretty tarts around, huh."_

"_You think our friend in the force is one of those clients?"_

"_What if it was a tart!" Ray immediately chuckled._

"_Right, it seems that the uniforms have taken the front, we'll turn to the back!" Gene swerved his car and went to the back of the port, a new arrival awaits….._

"What are you doing, Guv! You nearly crashed onto his car!" Alex's piercing call immediately woke Gene up from that daydream.

"Shit." Gene could only say, it wasn't a daydream but an awful flashback to the good old days, this time it sounded more positive though.

"Well we're here now, Guv." Benito was empathic as the rest of the gang got out of the car.

"Green Street just got painted Red." Drew's comment now sounded a bit like Ray, politically incorrect but gruesomely true.

"Found the body this morning, apparently was stabbed a lot of times."

"Any identity?" Alex asked the police officer on standby.

"No Ma'am, but I must say he looks pretty familiar."

"Oh bloody hell." Gene uncovered the body soaked in a considerable amount of blood.

"It's one of the Stewarts, Guv." Benito added on as Drew and Alex looked around the surroundings of the crime scene.

"Did the neighbours hear anything?" Alex asked.

"Ma'am, this is a noisy neighbourhood, even a scream is considered perfectly normal." The police officer on standby did seem cheery about that fact though, much to Alex's disgust.

"Which Stewart is that?"

"One of them, Bill, the third son of the Stewarts." Drew had somewhat photographic memory.

"You do have quite a good memory, DI Jensen." Alex refused to call him Drew, which shows the distance between them was still there.

"Well Ma'am, he literally spit at me when we came down to the house." Alex did a silent smirk while Gene looked at the body like as if it knew him.

"The victim must have opened the door, someone then lunged at him with a knife, started stabbing him anywhere." Drew deduced the fact that the door was not forced open.

"So the victim knew the killer." Gene got back to his detective instincts again, finally starting to recover from a flashback.

"Well who could that be?"

"Caldwells, a kill for a kill." Gene's emotionless comment sums up what clan rivalries do best.

"Or it could be?"

"Could be what?" Gene's expressionless tone was in fact more scary than him shouting his lungs out.

"Nothing." Drew knew that the Guv would go into another huge heated debate very soon.

"Say it, Jensen." Alex probed on, she still wasn't in a practical forgiving mood yet.

"It could be….." Drew was hesitant, especially when both Gene and Alex

s tone was not very encouraging this instant.

"_So who you think this tart is?" Alex was right at the back of the car obviously still not very awake._

"_Don't know, just a tart." Gene obviously knew it was definitely something else fishy going around with this tart. He hadn't read the newcomer's file yet (Old man didn't send it down on time)_

"_Careful, she might hear you."_

"_It could be…."_

"_Could be what!" Ray asked Chris with a tone of slight mockery around._

"_Our new DI…" Within a second Gene and Ray looked at Chris over yet another seeming stupid comment._

"_Well it really could be." Ray was bursting out laughing very loudly now while Chris seeing Ray thinking it was such a terrible joke also joined the laughter. Gene smirked a bit, it was a silly comment, a tart as a DI?_

_How wrong is that?_

"What!" Alex was losing patience with this DI and made a "You can't talk now even if you're such a bitch just now!" look.

"Sod it, let's go back to Fenchurch and sort the bloody mess out." Gene declares as he leaves the room, things have just gotten much tastier.


	12. Chapter 12

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 12

**Author's Note: This is a shorter chapter than previous chapters, am predicting the story will last longer than I expected. After all it's really a tale of two families, Please Read and Review. **

**Summary: Gene's getting more flashbacks, and is reaching breaking point.**

"What do we have here."

"Victim this time is Bill Stewart, pretty young to die but still dead." WPC Dobbs' quip didn't seem to lighten up the currently stormy and heavy mood around the office. Alex was sitting on her desk as usual, looking sideways as Katherine took over from Phyllis.

"Our previous victim was…" As Katherine furiously tried to look for the name of the other victim, which wasn't to Alex's surprise. These days the Met would have used a better version of Macs for data than scurrying through loads of paper and files.

"James Caldwell," Drew took over from Katherine with file on hand.

"A kill for a kill…." Benito's presumption sat quite well with the rest of the gang.

"What did the Caldwells and Stewarts used to do."

"Robbery, Assault, Arson, Ma'am, they do it without blinking their eye." Katherine knew that one, after reading piles of files stacked on top of her desk.

Alex looked at the two criminal records of the previous victims.

"Not very clean records, are they?" Alex looked at the files though she was focusing on Gene, holed up in his office like a cocoon's nest.

"Nope, Ma'am, if they are I would be doubly surprised."

"There's one though, name's Derek Caldwell, he hasn't committed much of a crime." Alex's eyes brightened up somehow, for a family of criminals to have a clean member is as good as getting a needle in a mountain of haystack.

"Derek Caldwell, clean like a virgin's arse!" Gene declares as he walks out knowing that Alex was watching his every move quite intensely.

"Yes, Gene, and you think he's a suspect?" Alex still needed some time getting used to calling him Gene, instead of the traditional Guv. 

"Might be, he's a bit too clean." Benito shot a strange look at both Gene and Alex, the usual people who call Guv Gene is either Oliver (Rarely, DCI Hunt is more preferable), or the criminals who were going to get a huge whacking.

"No, Harry Caldwell always wanted his grandson to do well, and never ever let him down." Alex emphasized the term ever twice.

"When was the last time a murder was committed?"

"1949, Harry Caldwell's father Harry Sr. was apparently shot dead, and I think that case happened in Edinburgh."

"Where you get this from, Danny Boy!"

"From hearing family histories for at least two hours." Drew gave a Tyler-like triumphant smirk which Gene quickly ignored. Alex managed a slight smile and yet another cold look at Drew.

"Family Histories don't really count do they?"

"No, Ma'am, but as far as the files show, no murder or even manslaughter out there."

"There must be one." Gene concluded.

"What?" Alex asked.

"There must be one, Bolly!" Gene looked at the stack of files again.

"_There must be one." _

"_Why Guv, family feuds don't get that bad, I mean its neighbours fighting each other."_

"_There must be one murder at least, Sammy Boy, this ain't Corrie Street." Gene was back at the Manchester office and apparently with a new nickname for Sam._

"_But seriously their rivalry is like City and United."_

"_Sworn Rivals." Gene smartly pointed it out, while Ray immediately shut up knowing that Gene pretty apparently knew what he was hinting._

"_Check the files now!"_

"_Guv, the files are…." Gene looked at the pile of files, messy was an understatement._

"_Well I don't care if the files look even more messier than they are, Cartwright, I just want to see if there's something more bloody than what their rivalry is."_

"_The Guv's right, how could once good neighbours turn into enemies with a so-called feud?" Sam was impressed with Gene's ability to ask questions out of the box._

"_Well maybe the other old lady's lying to us."_

"_I don't think so, Ray, there must have been something done between them to make them hate so much so to accuse each other of being a murderer._

"_Right, Sammy Boy, get the files processed!" Gene shouts, somewhat cheery that even the modern Sam agrees with him._

"_Got it!" Annie gets the file out of the stack and soon begins to read the murder charges._

"_Apparently…."_

"Apparently there will be one, Bolly, get the Files PROCESSED!" Gene awoke himself from the flashback and immediately roared.

"Excuse me, DCI Hunt, but I DCI Drake do not accept commands from you DCI Hunt unless you are promoted!" Alex shouted back, asserting her own authority at Gene's office. Gene's eyes bulged even more widely this time.

"If he ever gets a promotion, DCI Drake, that would be the day England would win a World Cup again." Drew couldn't help but add another rough shot at Gene.

"I don't need you to say that, DI Jensen, and watch that mouth of yours!" Alex fired back angrily as Benito and company sniggered their way through.

"Right! Um… We need to get the files processed." Gene was more or less tired and went back to his own office while Alex decided to let herself take a good hard look at how the team is functioning.

Things did go well on this side, Alex saw the team processing files more quickly than the old gang. When Ray and Chris would just have a good time reading all the nonsense written in those files instead of getting the most important stuff out there. Benito and Katherine would more or less serve as a modern-day scanner of files. Work Efficiency: High, is how Alex would have written in her real-time appraisal report, yet again this is 1983, appraisal reports were much more simpler then.

On the other end, things were not going well on Gene's corner. The fact that he's receiving flashbacks from the past, didn't serve well. He might have missed the old crew, but in actual fact, what do these flashbacks mean? The flashbacks seem to exude a haunting sense of fear, energy-sapping if one wanted a more appropriate term.

"Got it!" Gene could hear a triumphant Benito shout out as the rest of the crew stop their work, Gene got himself out of the chair and opened the door.

"Martha Caldwell, was murdered in Temple Street, suspect was Kendall Stewart, but released after evidence proved insufficient to courts."

"Date of Crime?"

"1966, London."

"I thought the Caldwells lived in Edinburgh until recently." Katherine was puzzled.

"It's concrete evidence, signed and checked by Detective Constable Morrison, London Police."

"_Hunt!"_

"_Yes, Sir!"_

"_At ease, Gene, I'm not your superior officer here, I'm just a lowly PC like you!" PC Morrison was chuffed as always to see Gene._

"_Yes, Sir!" Gene still wantonly continued saluting PC Morrison, he had respect for his seniors._

"_Stop calling me Sir, you little head!" PC Morrison took out a cigarette and puffed it at once. Cigarettes are not that easy to find those days._

"_Yes, Sir, I mean…."_

"_Maurice." PC Morrison reminded him of his first name, Gene did seem like Chris during his younger days._

"_Yes Maurice." Gene didn't feel the most comfortable of all people to address his elders by first name yet._

"_So what do we have here, Coronation Day within a week?"_

"_Yes, Sir. I think we just need to patrol around the countryside, Sir."_

"_Stop calling me that!" PC Morrison snapped back, pretty similar to how Gene would later snap at almost everyone else._

"_Yes, Maurice." PC Morrison smiled back at him, though it was more of a smirk than a genuine smile._

"_Alright, we'll go to the towns, there might be some thieves there trying to get themselves a deal at Corrie Day." _

"_Yes, Sir."_

"_You have a bright career, Gene." Maurice ignored the Sir again, knowing that Gene was still a bit too nervous._

"_One day you will end up like bloody Jim Cooper in High Noon."_

"_You're going to be the man in there." Maurice pointed to the DCI's office, an office of prestige, an office of power._

"_Yes, Sir!" Gene smiled back, he had a bright future according to PC Morrison._

_He believed him._

"Which Morrison!" Alex's words immediately jolted Gene back from another flashback.

"Maurice Morrison, then DC in 1966 at London."

"Alive or what?" Gene felt instantly terrible but continued to persevere on with his game face.

"Dead I suppose, the files showed he rose up the ladder late." This time it was Benito reading the file.

"How so?" Katherine was curious to know.

"PC Morrison at 1954, later DC at 1958, by then he was already in his late 40s, from DC he became DI in 1963, and then he reached DCI in 1973."

"Where is he now?"

"There's a footnote here that states that PC Morrison was from Manchester, but transferred to London, but no records from Manchester, apparently records fire there burnt whatever that is left of him." Katherine took over the file-reading and managed to read the tiny little bits of the paper. Alex showed a "I know." Expression along with Gene.

"The report." Gene shook his head slightly while keeping his hands crossed, as if he got a cold.

"Oh it's said that Martha Caldwell, quite a young lady here, was just walking, when she apparently was stabbed by Kendall Stewart, PC Morrison went up and immediately subdued him, but lady died of injuries."

"Is that all?" Alex asked, if the report was that short, it could serve as a small, very small paragraph of a file summary in 2008.

"Yup." Drew looked a bit stupid when he said that, Gene grabbed the file now. It was indeed PC Morrison's writing, unmistakenable.

"Drunk."

"What?"

"Drunk." Alex repeated the word again, while Gene and crew couldn't even understand.

"His handwriting is way too cursive, and way too brash."

"I didn't know you were a handwriting expert, DI Drake."

"It's DCI Drake." Alex was saying it in a tone pretty similar to Sam speaking to that bloody ancient copper in 1973.

"Right! So you guess that the report was."

"False. Either PC Morrison changed the facts or he just cooked up a story."

"What!" This time Gene along with Drew, Benito and Kat joined in unison, finally some sort of spark coming out from this quartet.

"So what the bloody hell you think we should do."

"I think we should investigate what happened in 1966."

"Cold Case, Cool." Katherine noted the US drama, Alex did watch at her free time, and obviously knew the reference, and raised her eyebrow in slight delight.

"Bolly, why the hell are we investigating old solved crimes?" Gene didn't seem to like the idea, neither does Drew or Benito.

"Why not?"

"You see we're wasting time." Gene tried to reason, instead of brashly slamming down opposition like he always used to.

"If we can investigate how the feud began, we can understand more about the families."

"The Guv's right, Ma'am, too much time wasted on a cold case can't solve the two murders." Drew joined in, in support of Gene this time.

"Alright then, let's see how this goes on."

"Right! Re-draw the bloody board!" Gene mumbled.

Alex looked at the gang now, all of them were now suddenly in agreement with Gene. Whilst the team begin to get something going, Gene was still a pale shadow of the once Lion of Fenchurch East.

There's something very worrying about Gene, stumbling at times, mumbling instead of roaring, things seem to going out of hand there.

She knows she has to fix this, and she definitely will.


	13. Chapter 13

A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Chapter 13 is finally out, it's been a long wait but this time it's one of the most emotionally charged chapters written for this story. A special thanks to all those who have constantly reviewed my story. Please read and review!**

"Right, what the hell do we have here!"

"Guv, let me and the team give you a summary of what the hell has happened for this case." Alex and Gene were now looking at the crew's newly-drawn board, not very messy one could say.

"First, let me introduce the Caldwells?"

Harry Caldwell, (1915-) Patriarch of the family, apparently kingpin of the house, a convicted master thief.

William Caldwell (1939-) Harry's son, and father of the grandchildren of the Caldwells

Martha Caldwell (1940-1966) Harry's daughter, was killed by Kendall Stewart in London

Derek Caldwell (1962-) Harry's eldest grandson, studious and perhaps the cleanest of the whole family.

Norma Caldwell (1967-) Harry's granddaughter, apparently in love with one of the Stewarts.

James Caldwell (1966-1983), Harry's grandson, died under mysterious circumstances outside Sung Mansion

There are still a few more Caldwell grandsons here, but none of them seem particular eye-catching.

"What about the Stewarts?" Alex enquired.

"The Stewarts!" Katherine took over from Drew, in the reading and analysing of the board.

Roy Stewart (1919-) Patriarch of the Stewart Family, Kingpin of the house, convicted man once, now Chairman of Rangers Fan Club.

Kendall Stewart (1923-) Roy's brother, stabbed Martha Caldwell at London, and now currently in jail.

Dan Stewart (1940-), Father of the Stewarts Grandchildren, criminal record also.

Gary Stewart (1964-), Eldest son of the Stewarts, pretty clean but obviously a ruffian according to records.

Nick Stewart (1965-) Second son of the Stewarts

Bill Stewart (1966-1983), 3rd son of the Stewarts, murdered and stabbed at Green Street.

"Is it just me, or is it we're just saying a lot of men's names that I don't seem to have a bloody clue about!" Gene raised his hands up, all he saw was two family trees.

Out of a sudden, he saw the two family trees turn to something more sinister…..

The photos of the Caldwells and the Stewarts seemed to have been replaced by himself, the patriarchs' replaced by Gene's mugshot, the rest of the sons or daughters, or whoever that was was replaced by the two gangs.

"Guv, we're just pointing out those we find fishy!"

"_We're pointing out those we find fishy." Chris summed up the messy board's worth of papers and photos._

"_What the…" Sam was about to curse, in fact he seemed utterly disappointed, that all these coppers could only think was apparently that the apparent suspects should be listed while the rest of the could-be suspects are somehow nowhere near the watch._

"_It's a family affair!" Sam protested, while Ray and Chris couldn't help but chuckle at their DI's frustration._

"_So what?" Gene didn't look much pleased with his DI's constant frustration with his colleagues. It was a source of frustration for him too._

"_You do not leave anybody behind…." Sam looked exasperated but decided not to raise his voice, he didn't want Gene come crashing down right at the early morning._

"_No seriously…." Sam looked at the rest of the crew who thought he looked absolutely insane._

"_YOU DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING BEHIND." Sam shouted, as if he tried to make a point….._

"YOU DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING BEHIND!" Gene roared out, attempting to make _his _own point, his fist was dangerously close to Drew's nose who wisely backed off.

"Guv, you don't need to shout like that." Alex seemed more perplexed at Gene's sudden blast against his team. Gene proceeded to rip off the photos, and throw them all on the floor before slamming the door shut.

"It's one of the Guv's angry rants again." Drew summed up to his Ma'am, who still seemed cold and distant, perhaps the flirting and prank episode happened too quickly for her to forgive?

"_Through early morning fog I see, visions of the things to be, the pains that are withheld for me, I realize and I can see…." _The depressing Mash's theme, was playing at the radio in Gene's office.

Alex looked at Gene again, his usual tie looked more haggled than ever, the whisky bottle, once drunk with a glass, now drunk from the mouth. Gene was definitely going into a depression, if not manic depression.

"_That suicide is painless…. It brings on many changes and I can take or leave it if I please."_

Gene on the other hand had his hands covering his faces, it wasn't a sob definitely. The Manc Lion did seem pretty helpless though.

"_The sword of time will pierce our skins, It doesn't hurt when it begins _

_But as it works its way on in The pain grows stronger...watch it grin"_

"Maybe you guys did left out something." Alex tried to apparently defend Gene, who was right, they were not as detailed in planning and analyzing. But both she and gene knew Ray and Chris' planning then equates to no plan at all, it was just smash and arrest,irregard whether it's a bloody complicating case or a simple theft.

The howling Mash theme was still ringing in everyone's ears. No one liked the song, it was more for mourning at some soddin Americano Soldier's funeral instead of BBC Radio 1. But yet again, this was Gene and Alex's world.

_'Cause suicide is painless _

_it brings on many changes _

_and I can take or leave it if I please. _

_...and you can do the same thing if you choose."_

The theme ends sorrowfully, Alex turned around. The team genuinely thought they had some great progress along the case. Frustrations could be seen everywhere, Katherine was holding her pen and drawing some cuckoo-looking figures that did seem a bit like Mitchell and Webb,. Benito was looking slightly forlorn while studying the files and Drew just stood there wondering what the Guv is up to.

Alex takes her white jacket from the chair, and then decides to valiantly open the door (It wasn't locked)

"What the bloody…."

"It's time you see a doctor, Gene!" Alex looked all serious and signaled for the Car's keys to be handed to her. Gene threw the keys to her but Alex literally dragged him out.

"What the bloody…." Gene was muttering but Alex was using more of brute force that Gene totally unexpected of her.

"Work Day's Over, Go get yourselves a drink while I go take this pigheaded DCI to the good old doctor's for a lobotomy!" Alex declares as Gene who managed to get himself untangled by Alex's hands follows albeit as if he was eating sheer humble pie. The rest of the team looked bewildered but decided not to move.

"Well the Guv has found his match."

"You think she's his ex-lover…"

"I certainly do."

"Don't be disgusting."

"There's plenty more evidence of this compared to that Caldwell and Stewart shit." Drew quips as he grabs his jacket out, the gang were having a trip to Ollie's, but all were wondering what would happen tomorrow?

"I think you need help, Gene."

"Why is it I'm hearing this from you for the bloody third time!" Gene was back in the small Guardian's abode, looking absolutely irritated like he always would.

The air was thinning in the guardians' house, the colourful walls seemed to turn grey. It was like as if a huge cloud was clouding over the whole house. A cloud before a storm.

"Well you don't look…" Alex was struggling to find the right words to express herself, something pretty strange for a wordsmith like her.

"Look what, Bolly!"

"Well you are just not, just not the Gene I knew." Alex decided to calm herself down, a confrontation seems too risky to start at this point of time.

"I'm still Gene bloody Hunt!" Gene slapped his own chest as if to show his own masculinity, but it was a lacklustre attempt and the laugh wasn't even genuine, it was weak.

"I'm fine, DI Drake, so stop getting all psychic over me!" Gene declares as he waves his hand off, as if he was dismissing Alex's worries like as if he did again.

"Yeah, but I can tell that your temper is boiling over…." Gene's hawkish looks began to dampen as his back faced Alex.

"Your temper is boiling over because you are staring into blank space."

"Whenever someone's talking to you, Gene! You suddenly get a shock, you suddenly stare into blank space."

"Then the next thing you do, is you start flaring up into a temper and you start boiling over like some mad cat over the hot tin roof!" Alex sounded agitated enough for Gene to feel her anger.

"It's not as if that's you, Gene…."

"It's not as if that's you, you were Sam's Guv, you were Chris's Guv, you were Shaz's Guv, and you were MY Guv, Gene, why can't you be theirs?" Gene began to slightly tremble, he was immensely speechless, this time Alex had really noticed what was wrong with him while everyone seemed pretty oblivious that this wasn't him.

"You're in shock now, Gene." Alex was intensifying the pressure, like all good psychology cum interrogation experts, as the pressure intensifies to boiling point, one spills the beans.

"No, I'm not." Gene mumbled, though his hands continued to tremble, his back still remains facing Alex. He knew what Alex was trying to do, but he didn't want to break so soon.

"You are!" Alex laughed out of a sudden, Gene now indeed felt a sense of surprise. Living with a psycho bloody expert, especially a female has its down sides.

"No, I'm not." Gene tried to remain as serious as he could, but Alex could smell a rat even if Gene's lying especially this time.

"You are, Gene, don't you ever deny it!" Alex fired back, tears were beginning to well up.

"No, I'm not." Gene's hands trembled further, his hands trying desperately to curl into a fist.

"You cannot deny it anymore, Gene, you need help!"

"You need help…" Alex's voice echoed throughout Gene's brain, this was becoming a psychotic warfare between the two of them.

"I don't need it, Bolly…." Gene couldn't even get the words through that lion's mouth of his.

"Gene, what the bloody hell are you waiting for!" Alex screamed, this time she knew the last straw might just simply be broken anytime soon, she took a few steps back.

Gene remained silent, his fist now finally curled up, though not a very firm one.

"IF YOU DECIDE TO BE LIKE THIS NOW, I'LL LEAVE!" Alex shrieked again, she didn't need to care any neighbours here, definitely no police knocking on the doors to nose around, not even those neighbour disturbing the night peace crap. No pet dog, no other person, just him and her.

She had enough of denials and that crap, she knew it from the start that something was wrong, and this time she just wanted to be proven right and help Gene.

Gene remained silent, but this time he turned around, his face remained ash grey, pale if one needed a more simple description.

"No, Bolls, No." Gene walked forward, but it was more of limping forward than walking. Gene wasn't as much as shouting or screaming but one could tell it was a plea, albeit muffled to only a mere monotone sentence.

"You need help, Gene or those souls will be lost to Jim Keats or whoever he is!" Alex maintained the strong sense of urgency in her voice, and of course the frustration.

"I know…" Gene would have wanted to say that, but decided to nod silently.

"You don't want to give this up, do you?" Alex sees some slight progress and decides to continue pursuing.

"No…." Gene could only collapse back on the sofa, looking absolutely exhausted. Alex on the other hand didn't seem much victorious either.

"Gene, you need the help, and I'm here to provide it." Alex reverted back to her usual lush tone, as she pats Gene's back.

"Well Bolly, " Gene would probably like to say "You're right." But Gene was still pretty stubborn. Alex could tell Gene's body language was one of reluctance, the facial expression was of sullen agreement.

"Gene, what the heaven is going on?"

"I've been getting flashbacks…"

"Flashbacks?"

"Flashbacks, Yes Bolls, Flashbacks."

"What flashbacks?" Alex passed Gene a glass of Chardonnay wine, 1979, not a pretty good year.

"Flashbacks of everything, Bolls, from 1953, 1973, 1980s, anytime, anywhere."

"What triggers such flashbacks?" Alex was now turning herself into her usual professional job.

"What the bloody…."

"Just doing my job." Alex apparently had a notebook and was furiously scribbling notes as she looks at Gene slouched at his sofa, with wine at hand.

"Psychologist, pah!" Gene laughed, Alex looked up feeling a little bit surprised, this time he got the term right.

"What triggers the flashbacks, DCI Hunt?" Alex suddenly turned all serious, Gene has never been to a psycho-logist, but apparently now he felt as if he was seeing a dentist, a bloody expensive one.

"A word, a sentence."

"Like Guv, have some chips?"

"Yes, Bolly, Yes." Gene hoped he didn't have the flashback again, but with Alex there, it should be pretty safe or so he hoped.

"Reminds you of?"

"Ray, during the stakeout." Alex had no clue of the stakeout that Gene was referring to but somehow she had the idea it did happen.

"So whatever or whoever says anything that reminds you of the past, that triggers this flashback." Gene nodded in agreement.

"Have I gone mad?"

"No, Gene, you just need a lot more sessions with me?"

"What do you mean by sessions?" Gene was thinking dirty, one could tell from the smug expression he displayed.

"It's hypnotism." Gene's smug expression vanished as Alex emotionlessly took the hypnotic chain out from her small box of belongings.

"What the bloody hell…." Gene's eyes bulged open as wide as he ever could , he knew that somehow this was one of those psychological bollocks psychos get, but of all people, him!

Will it heal that bloody psychological bastard dreams, or bloody nightmares?

Will Gene get his house, team back in order?

We'll soon find out as the story continues…..


	14. Chapter 14

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Chapter 14's out, Please Read and Review!**

"You know Bolly, I'm starting to think that this is a bad idea." Gene was apparently not kidding over this. Hypnotism always seemed to be an occult freakish-looking thing that somehow gets associated with the devil.

"Well at least it isn't a lobotomy, Gene." Alex was now preparing the whole hypnotism set all psychologists used.

"A lobotowhat!" Gene always felt stupefied the fact that Alex decide to use some medical term he was not familiar of.

"It's definitely not something you'd like to know, Gene, trust me on that." Gene decided to shut up, he didn't want to hear gory details.

"There's nothing to fear over this, Gene, Nothing to fear." Alex got herself prepared, it seems that she wasn't going to use whatever instrument she's got but decides to use the voice.

"Well let us begin, keep your eyes closed" Gene was caught off surprise over this, he thought Alex needed more time to prepare whatever scientific bloody experiment he was going to do.

One could hear the Spanish music of Recuerdos De La Alhembra ringing throught the CD player

"What the….." Gene didn't like the tune of a Spanish song, and he definitely didn't like Guitar, some poofy musicians would use it, he would say.

"I want you to relax now Gene, and picture yourself at a Sun Paradise….."

"Well I'm in paradise now." Gene's short blurts seemed to show treatment was not going into a good start.

"Take this seriously Gene, if not those flashbacks will get back at you." Alex was noticeably blunt this time, and definitely bemused over Gene's disruptions.

"You are walking into a castle, a very ancient castle…." The guitar chords of Recuerdo De La Alhembra continue to sing the same tune, but strangely it did seem pretty hypnotic.

"At this ancient castle, is where your memories are cast in gold boxes…." Alex's cool and sultry voice also seemed to double that effect to marvel.

"These memories, your childhood…."

"Childhood…" Gene didn't need to go into a trance to know that, but Alex could differentiate one person who has went into trance and one who has not. Gene was at a trance.

"What do you picture there?" Alex was now slightly eager to learn the response, any curt response will definitely ensure Alex's next option, a big slap in the face.

"Young child, playing football, looking at City scarfs around the house….." Gene was looking dreamy now, his eyes closed, he was somehow now in peace.

"Continue…."

"Young child, playing football till he's a teen, walking around like a skinny lad, watching City play in Maine, looking at those police blue hats…."

"Admiring them?"

"Yes, admiring those blue hats, as they maintain law and bloody order…"

"What else?"

"I can't see much, I only know Dad's abusive drunk self appeared outside Maine Road, nearly got whacked by United, policeman saved his life."

"Who?"

"Some guy I don't know, but I only know he's a copper."

"Then what happened?" Alex's voice was still as sultry and calm as ever, though she began to dread the part where the flashbacks started to begin.

It wasn't his childhood that suffered the flashbacks, it was right from the time near his death till now, that the flashbacks enter into Gene's subconscience.

"I became a copper, PC, blue badge out there… I can see it, feeling proud, feeling bloody proud as lanky lad of the day…"

"Started patrolling and then…."

"And then what?" Alex kept her voice calm though she was slightly alarmed now.

"And then…"

"_BANG! BANG!"_

"_HAHA…."_

Gene immediately awoke from the trance, this was pretty unexpected for Alex but Gene felt even more tired and was suddenly gasping from breath.

"What happened, Gene?" Alex immediately gave Gene a glass of plain water, though Gene actually wanted a glass of wine.

"Was opening another bloody golden box, then heard two gunshots and a damn bloody loud laugh from a shadow…."

"What shadow?"

"Don't know." Gene gulped and obviously looking more tired than he was.

"I think you're too tired to continue now, Gene." Alex was right, first experiences usually are more traumatic.

"Can you tell me what the bloody hell is this session about, Bolly."

"Gene, this is called Psychological Hypnotic healing, it's a technique to allow both patient and psychologist to understand what's going on inside your brain, what causes these flashbacks."

"Well it doesn't seem to bloody work!" Gene was back to his old self again.

"It takes time, Gene." Alex's explanation made sense.

"Why didn't you become a doctor, Drake?" Gene was curious to know.

"I believe in the law." Alex's huge smile got Gene's glass of wine to meet with her's.

"You know Gene, that treatment might heal those flashbacks, but you need to know that there's a team of souls waiting to go up there."

"Your temper would only distance them from you, and when the devil comes….." Gene's eyes suddenly lit up again, it was as if he heard something that he shouldn't hear again.

"When the devil comes, I will face that bloody war again…." Gene knew how it felt.

"Not just you, Gene, you're not alone. There's me, remember?" Gene smiled as Alex got her head resting on Gene's shoulder. It was a good memory to keep as Alex stopped playing the poofy classics and got them Herb Alpert instead.

"Morning!" It was DCI Drake's second day in the office, and the officers decided it was best to say at least a simple Good morning, or even simpler Aye, ma'am!

"So what have you left off."

"We left off the whole family, which we are repairing it."

"Screw the repair works, let's get those bloody children nicked." Gene was at a mood of arresting.

"It's too early, Guv."

"Why, they're in school?" Alex asked.

"Today's your day," Phyllis entered and threw a newspaper on Drew's desk.

"Both schools declared a holiday today, to celebrate some achievement or whatsoever."

"That's great, isn't it?" Katherine thought the school headmasters were a bit too liberal to declare holidays in free will. Yet again may I remind you all this is Galex's world.

"Yes, great day to smash open their doors and give those two families a good old bloody morning glory!"

"Why?"

"Because we need to find what connections do the youths of both families have, only then we can know the killer's motive and catch the killer." Alex was stating the bare obvious to Benito.

"You need a search warrant, Guv." Gene looked at Katherine, while Alex managed a brief smile.

"Here's my warrant." Gene took his handcuffs out with the gun armed.

"Let's bring down these twats to Fenchurch, shall we?" Gene showed a triumphant smile as Phyllis could only shake her head while the rest of the team moved out of the office. A lot more paperwork to fill, that is.

"Police, open the door." Benito knocked the Stewart's door as loudly as he could.

"Police, open the door." Drew slammed the Caldwell's door as loudly as he could, he didn't want Gene to show him the traditional way of knocking down people's door without saying "Hello, you twat."

"Come on, Danny Boy, use a bit of strength, will you." Gene proceeded to slam even harder the door and started yelling at the poor Caldwells, the door could break anytime soon.

"What the bloody…." Harry Caldwell's restless and old sleepy face greeted Gene.

"Hello, you old twat." Gene punched the man's nose immediately, and got his officers in the Caldwells house.

"What the…." Drew immediately pinned Harry down, while the other uniformed officers rushed upstairs and begin their mass operation of arrests.

"Harry Caldwell, we're suspecting that your grandchildren by the names of Norma…" Alex was beginning to recite a whole list of family names.

"You bloody soddin bitch lawyer." Harry's rude interruption saw a few gut-wrecking punches and a stamp on the back from the Lion.

"Right you bastard Caldwell, you know somehow I feel that you could be the old sod that might just end up at bloody Broadmoor!" Gene continued while Alex decided to stop reading the rights. She could faintly hear a few screams out there from the Stewarts house, apparently Benito and Kat were not that kind to the Stewarts either.

"I'm not guilty!" Harry Caldwell yelled out, as the rest of the Caldwell youths were taken away by the police cars.

"Search their rooms." As Harry Caldwell managed to get a foot back on the floor, Alex gave him a real tight slap, enough for Harry to fall back again.

"So where were you at…." Benito and crew had the hapless youths processed like crabs on a fishing ship. Slow and painfully slow.

The presence of Gene was quite deeply missed, for the team's processing speed was as slow as a 1983 computer.

"So where were you at the noon of October 25th, 1983 also known as bloody yesterday!" Gene smashed his knuckles at almost every youth at the interrogation room.

"Noon, October 25th, where were you? Where were you, Where were you!" Alex was having fun playing mind games with those interrogated, and that irritating repetitive questioning just can't stop.

"You're suspecting I killed my own son!" Roy Stewart was flabbergasted to the core.

"Bill's my brother, Sir!"

"I was at the University Library."

"I was at my parent's house."

"No kidding, of course I'm at work, I'm retired thief, you know RETIRED!"

The whole list of answers just seemed to make things as complicated as it gets. Everybody seemed to be everywhere except Bill's room, the place where he was murdered.

"Can somebody here bloody remind me what the bloody shit is going on around those two houses."

"Well there's robbery committed by the youths but I prefer to continue to observe."

"Murder,no Suspect." Benito summed up the dilemma.

"And what the hell I'm supposed to do Benito."

"Draw a map." Alex pointed out the correct way of doing this.

"Checked the alibis?" Gene wearily asked Drew who was still on the phone though definitely not flirting. The last time he did that, Gene ended up taking the phone and saying a whole range of expletives and claiming Drew was a married man, killing all chances of flirting to any female police officer around the police station at King's cross.

"Yes, apparently we can cut down a few names."

"Derek Caldwell, At the University Library…" Katherine proceeded to strike off the names.

"So we have no one left." Alex was surprised at the fact that everyone seemed to have an alibi.

"Don't tell me…." Drew was slapping his head in frustration.

"It's an isolated case." Alex went straight to the point.

"Wait a minute, we have a robbery, two bloody murders to solve." Gene is starting to believe that there is too much of a plate to handle.

"Should we actually refer this to…" Katherine was about to ask the golden question of transferring out cases.

"No! Colchester Girl, I want this all kept in bloody Fenchurch East, Capisce!" Katherine was somewhat bemused at the response. During her time there was the term of "police divisions cooperation". But in Gene's and Alex's world, police divisions cooperation is all but a political correct word of throwing out cases you can't handle.

"_Capisce!" Gene's rude remark to Litton was somehow targeted solely towards him. After all Litton had no affair to settle beside some Hardwick arse._

"_Geno, I don't know whether you have a hand in this, but that pencil neck over there."_

"_What."_

"_He's a scary fella."_

"_Sure know who he is, Litton, don't you bloody worry."_

"_And by the way before I get arrested because of Bevan, be careful over Pencil Neck"_

"_I know."_

"_BANG!"_

"_HAHAHAHAHAHHA…." _

"I think we should get ourselves reorganized." Alex looked at the once again messy whiteboard and stickers and pen marks all around. It was high time to re-fix the whole investigation.

"Sure will, Ma'am." The gang soon immediately started to analyse properly. While Alex looked at Gene again, it was apparent that he was suffering from another of those flashbacks.

"How's it, Gene?" Alex was back in Gene's office as Gene drunk down a few whisky and was somewhat slightly gasping.

"I'm fine, Bolls, I'm fine." Gene knows he's fine, but the gunshot, the irritating laughter, it didn't make sense. The laughter was harrowingly disgusting, and the gunshots seemed distant yet so near.

It's driving him near nuts but as he looks at the team again, Benito, Colchester Girl, Danny Boy and Bolly. Somehow they are still there.

"I need to solve this bloody dream of mine, Bolls, this bloody dream of mine." Gene mutters as Alex flashes a sympathetic look at him.

"_BANG!"_

"_HAHAHAHAHAHA" _

_The Shadow was getting closer, the laughter louder and more soul-devouring than ever, something inside the mind of the Lion needs to be solved._


	15. Chapter 15

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 15

Author's Note: Back from a (bloody) long absence, and now here's Chapter 15, please read and review!

The next morning, the whole Fenchurch East CID were back in business. After painstakingly drawing a full graph and mind map of sorts. The whole team were now awaiting for the Guv's return, or in fact the Guv and the Ma'am's return.

"You think they had a good night?" Drew asked Kat.

"How would I know!" Katherine was more irritated by Drew's insensitive comments though the rest of the team were having a chuckle. Drew apparently had gained as much respect with his nicely put colleagues, all to be more realistically called: Chauvinist Bastards.

"They sure did, because somehow I found you being at one of the hooker's house." Phyllis flashed a slightly nasty smile, while Drew's broad smile immediately faded to an "Oh Shit!" look.

Now it was the colleagues' time to laugh at Drew with Katherine opening her mouth as wide as if she wanted to say "What have you done?" or "Oh Gosh!"

"Morning!" Gene's traditional morning grumble was soon met by the same old "Morning, Guv." Waves by the gang. Alex followed closely suit, smiling as chirpily as she could.

"So what do we have here." Drew immediately sprang into action, determined to show the boss his best and get over the humiliation Phyllis delivered.

"We have a more detailed summary of what's happened."

"So apparently the Stewarts and the Caldwells…" Drew and the team continued their delightful summary of affairs. Nothing short of stating the obvious, the deaths of the James Stewart and Nick Caldwell.

Drew was now agreeing with Gene, it was definitely family-related, though this time Gene wasn't sure if the death of James Stewart was revenge-related.

"I don't think they killed him, the Caldwells." Alex added on.

"Why?"

"They might be thieves, but they're certainly not murderers?" Gene would usually ask yet another "how'd you know that?" But trusting Alex's instincts after working with her for 3 years, only gives Gene one golden sentence: She is (almost) ALWAYS right.

"How'd you know that." Katherine asked it in a way that didn't seem as demeaning as Gene always did.

"Well the fact that I went undercover, they are thieves, but they are not as mean as to kill." The gang had to agree with that, they seemed non-aggressors especially when dealing with the Stewarts. The Stewarts always seemed to be the bigger tartan clan than the other.

"So that's what we have now." Benito concluded the half-an-hour long presentation of evidence and whatever they could have found.

"There's something wrong out here." Gene was beginning to use his old copper's instinct.

"What."

"How the feud even started." Gene looked at his team, and apparently none of them got the idea except maybe for Alex who this time round decides to feign a bit of ignorance.

"You see, those bloody two families said that it was their grandfather or whoever the hell he is who was murdered and then they start rambling…"

"The family history…." Alex opened her mouth wide, this time she might have left out the details.

"But then again we have a murder here."

"Martha Caldwell, 1966."

"So why would someone actually mention that the grandfather being killed instead of one's bloody daughter!"

"Disgrace to the Household." Katherine wondered.

"According to records, Martha Caldwell had a son." Alex flipped open the file, it contained her obituary that said she was survived by a son.

"Who?" Drew asked, there were no records to suggest that Martha Caldwell had a son.

"Check the bloody registry, see if they've got any bloody clue over this."

"Meanwhile, I think we should get them back for questioning."

"I doubt their lawyers would have it." Alex was right, both families might be thieves but they are rich thieves, who employ bands of lawyers ready to smash the police into pulp just like how Alex raised hell at Gene during her undercover episode.

"Let's see Kendall Stewart then." Drew noted that the murderer of Martha might have some clue.

"Do we have his court testimony here?"

"Archives." Gene and the gang looked at Phyllis.

"I'm not the High Court registrar!" Phyllis protested, she wasn't but she had a way with the archives, Police do have some files of it, especially when it comes to murder.

"No, but you're the Skip, that will help me bloody find the file in 1966!"

"Right, so what we need to do now is to investigate the death of Martha Caldwell."

"and who Martha's son is…."

"Could it be the mistake of the press?"

"Unlikely, it's some Albert shit who wrote it, some standard shit editor of The Times, when he was doing crime!" Gene was right about the standards editor, usually only reporters then who had high credible standards in journalism always ended up in Standards when they're supposed to be Chief.

"Ok, do we need to ask again." Alex didn't mean it as a question.

"Right, never presume, Benito go ask that Albert over it."

"Phyllis, Kat, I want you to get the file of Martha Caldwell including the whole trial that police archived."

"Drew, go and continue looking for more clues that could tell us more about the murder, if it's not a family revenge killing, who would most likely be involved."

Alex was shouting out the commands as everyone were happy to oblige, things were getting more productive here than ever before!

"Bolly!" Gene actually wanted to say that it's supposed to be him calling the shots. But Alex flashed a broad smile and her lips signalling that "I'm a DCI."

"Got it." Gene knew it would take time for him to get used to letting Alex call the shots alongside with him, after all she's a DCI.

Prison.

Alex and Gene were back at the prisons, it's been a bloody long time since they've ever went into a prison. The last time was a prison riot that neither one of them would ever want to talk about at all.

"Kendall Stewart's at Cell 180, imprisoned since 1967, serving for life."

"He should be shot." Gene grumbled, making his sentiments known to every prisoner across the corridor.

"Kendall Stewart." Kendall Stewart looked nothing like the original mugshot pasted in his personal file. He had a pale complexion, whiter hair and more wrinkles, compared to Roy Stewart, Kendall could pass off as the dad of Roy.

"DCI Gene Hunt Metropolitan Police."

"What shit-arse business I have to do with you rotten coppers." Ken's opening greeting didn't seem the most welcome of everyone.

"Well I suppose you know that your nephew Bill Stewart has died."

"Killed by a Caldwell." Stewart was as quick as enough to make judgments like all members of the two families.

"Well you killed a Caldwell, didn't you." Alex tried not to be sarcastic, as she said that.

"No Comment." Kendall Stewart looked like one of those rough country old fellows who just smoked his life away.

"Why did you kill her?" Alex continued pressing the questions, Gene meanwhile was looking silently at him. Whenever Gene was silent during interrogation, he would be doing something drastic soon.

"No Comment."

"How did the feud start?" Gene decided to divert the questioning of Alex.

"Well those bastards said we killed their grandfather, but they killed more Stewarts." Kendall was noticeably silent, he didn't like to recollect the family history.

"Well why did you kill Martha Caldwell?"

"No Comment."

"According to your testimony, it says that you killed her because she apparently was being a bitch."

After a somewhat longer period of silence, Kendall opened his mouth at last.

"Women can be killed for any other reason, you see." Kendall flashed a smirk back at Alex.

"You bastard." Alex muttered.

"I'm not going to tell you anything, DCI Hunt, and whoever that cheap lady is."

"You Should Go To Hell!" Alex using a uncharacteristically violent force kicked Kendall off his chair, just as Gene was about to actually punch.

"Why you'd look at me like that?" Both Alex and Gene were out of the jail cell and walking back to the Red Mercedes.

"I didn't know you decided to go violent before me."

"I have enough of bastards, especially woman-killing bastards."

"Well I am an armed bastard." Gene curtly fired back.

"At least you're Gene Hunt." Alex was now more or less flirting with him.

"Enough of the flirting, Bolls, we'll do that later, let's get back to the police station and see if we got any more things left."

Fenchurch East CID

"What do we have now." Gene asked as he got back to the CID office.

"Phyllis's got the file,"

"Which file?" Alex asked while Drew passed her the old dusty file.

"The Birth Registrar Archives." Katherine pointed out to Alex.

"Martha Caldwell was indeed survived by a son, the son's name was unknown."

"Father?"

"No idea, apparently single mother must be, she didn't even fill up her child's name."

"Was there a birth date given?"

"Nope."

"I'm sorry." Alex was looking absolutely stupid as she thought the file was recorded completely.

"No Birth Date, only know that she gave birth to a son, full stop."

"When was this certificate published."

"Year unspecified." Gene was now taking a look at the otherwise completely empty birth certificate belonging to "Son Of Martha Caldwell"

"I can't believe this." Everyone was as surprised as they would be, a birth certificate with almost nothing written on it.

"Hospital Records."

"Hospital says they won't give it unless you have a specific date, which unfortunately they only told us it was before 1965." That didn't help much really.

"What do you have Drew." Alex gave up finding the old archives, completely useless she thought.

"Well I have spoken to family associates, most of them keeping themselves mum, no one likes to speak to police."

"Who might have a murder motive?"

"Everyone does have one, Ma'am, they're family friends after all!"

"So we don't have anything."

"I have something here." Everyone looked at Phyllis again as she managed to get another file from the archives.

"It's the court trial for the death of Martha Caldwell." The stack of police files were comparatively small than some other high-profile cases.

"Right, let's get something out of this shit." Gene decided to take the lead by grabbing two files out of the stack to read.

Gene was back in his office, while Alex tried to churn out a conspiracy theory that might just work.

He got a glass of whisky, and with legs over the table. One would thought he was reading for leisure instead of reading for work.

"Police Report on Murder of Martha Caldwell, filed by Detective Constable Maurice Morrison, 1966."

The report stated the obvious, Maurice Morrison looked at Kendall Stewart stabbing Martha Caldwell to death, caught and arrested Kendall Stewart, CID began investigating into it, and concluded it was a mishap case dealt by a mentally challenged Kendall Stewart."

"Mentally challenged." Gene highlighted how Morrison used the word to actually describe the man as nuts.

"_Well He's Nuts, Sir."_

"_You don't call him a crazy arse, you call him the government way."_

"_What way is that!"_

"_Well you call him in the report, PC Hunt, as Mentally Challenged, that's how you phrase it."_

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

_HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH_

The gunshots were firing yet again this time the laughter continued even longer but Gene got an impression of the man laughing, it was a thin body, white skin, just as he was about to get a closer look at the features...

"Gene!" Alex shouted and Gene immediately awoke from the flashback.

"What's it Bolly…." Gene was barely conscious now, the flashback was once again dealing him a big blow.

"Had a flashback?"

"Yeah, read Morrison's report, got it."

"We'll have another session again, shall we?"

"Yeah Bolls…"

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

_HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA_

The gunshots and laughter kept on coming, it didn't stop for a long time, there was no flashback, nothing but somehow Gene knew that there was something in his head, something that is troubling him once again.

Gene knows there's an enemy within, but who in heaven could this enemy be?

He hopes, and I think you the reader hope that you'll know who it is at the next chapter.


	16. Chapter 16

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 16

"We need to speak to Maurice Morrison."

"Why!" Gene didn't seem to like the idea of speaking to his old mentor, he didn't like seeing someone from his past in the purgatory looking more frail and old as he was in 1983.

"Because we need to know why Maurice Morrison wrote Undisclosed for the report." Drew was reading the file's tiny font at the bottom.

"What undisclosed?" Alex herself found it funny to place undisclosed in a report.

"Undisclosed for Martha Caldwell's work."

"She worked for the police…." Katherine was quite surprised at that Martha, the daughter of a family of thieves worked for the police. To Gene it would be like seeing a family of City Fans and there goes one family member who supports United.

"In what role?"

"Undisclosed reasons for work."

"Criminal would have been a nice term." Gene bluntly pointed it out, though usually he would have placed them as unemployed with the word Bastard rubber-stamped over the guy's face.

"MI5?" Katherine was thinking maybe she was some spy but quickly rubbished the thought herself.

"Undisclosed reasons, only means there's something very fishy about her." Gene knew the term well enough, no one would put that especially when one has visited the police station for questioning a heaven lot of times.

"Undisclosed?" Benito asked again, as if he didn't hear the whole conversation at all.

"Yes! Kat, get me some tea, 4 sugars."

"Gu…Gene! Kat ain't your secretary!"

"Ok, then Bolls, go get it for me will you please!" Gene decided that getting Kat to serve tea was no fun, get Alex to do.

"I'll do it." Alex decided to do it, in the spirit of some fun which she is about to have. Drew closely followed her instead.

"Ma'am." Alex looked at Drew, as usual.

"Look…. I just wanted to say…." Drew was pretty anxious as Alex got started making the tea.

"I just wanted to say how sorry I was over the thing that day, didn't know you were a lawyer…you know, ha." Drew was half-mumbling, and stopping irregularly and apparently it was not a very fluent apology.

"It's alright, well all coppers do have some days of fun at times." Alex smiled back, she was in a forgiving mood, and she knew the apology was sincere enough. As a Guardian, one cannot be always too cross with the soul.

"What you're adding!" Drew looked at Alex as she added some weird mixture of red and green and yellow powder.

"I'm adding some Spice into it." The way Alex said Spice and emphasized the word, one would thought she was a cooking show host but the mixture didn't seem appetising in the first place.

"You know that the Guv's going to kill you for this." Drew didn't know whether to dissuade Alex or not.

"Too late, 4 sugars, 1 mixture of cayenne pepper along with some hot Mexican chillis and curry powder should make his tea a good hot one.

"Now Serve it!" Alex gave Drew the cup.

"Wha… me!"

"Well apology is only accepted if the hot tea is sent to his hands." Alex made a mischievous smile at him.

"Ok, god bless me then." Drew seemed highly reluctant to do so but decided that if he didn't do it, his superior will be more cross, affecting the rates of promotion, job environment. After all, there are no unions that seem helpful in the police!

"Guv! Your tea." Drew's hands trembled slightly, his expression didn't seem very nice either.

"Danny Boy, you making tea instead of Bolly!" Gene at his heroic best decided to give a bit of a twist of irony to the fact that Drew would make tea for the Guv.

"Drink it, Gene, it's hot…" The way Alex emphasized the word hot, sounded more terrifying to Gene than usual.

"Right, I think we should look to DCI Morrison for details…."

Gene spit out the coffee immediately.

"What the bloody hell is that! Danny Boy!" Gene immediately threw the coffee down on the table, his mouth wide open.

"It's hot, isn't it Gene!" Alex flashed a triumphant smile.

"What did you put in that, Drake!"

"Cayenne Pepper with some Mexican Chillies or whatever." The rest of the gang couldn't help snigger.

"Bolly, you've just…." Gene couldn't help but feel his mouth was like one bloody dragon's.

"As we said, we need to look for Morrison."

"Where is he?"

"House Street, a few blocks away from here."

"I'll get the Merc, D...R….A….K..E!." Gene begins to feel the heat of the chillies which was leaving him more speechless than usual.

"What the hell was that for!" Gene swallowed back the chilli heat and immediately reverted back to his mouth when he was in the car.

"Well I thought you could last the heat."

"I'm the bloody guardian, of course the heat can't beat bloody me!'

"That should teach you a lesson on treating Kat like Shaz!" Alex flashed a way more chirpy smile than usual. Gene decided not to scold her, if only he could play a prank back on her…..

"So this is where Morrison lived…." Gene stpped out of the red Mercedes.

"Well he's pretty old isn't it."

"Was." Gene hated to remind her that they were in the purgatory, Alex looked at him as if he was mad.

"Oh." Alex needed to get herself into the role of Guardian, after all Gene had little time nor heart to guide her through the process.

Gene walked to the Morrisons' front gate and knocked it loudly.

The door opened, Gene and Alex were greeted by a young lady.

"You are?"

"DCI Gene Hunt and DCI Alex Drake, we're here to look for DCI Morrison."

"You mean my grandfather?" Gene was surprised that Morrison had children, for the chauvinistic bachelor, that was a surprise.

"Yeah, DCI Maurice Morrison, that is."

"Well he might not be able to handle this but…."

"What." Gene found the girl's tone hesitant as if she was hiding something from the coppers.

"He has dementia, some disease that's made him lose memory."

"Alzheimer's." Alex added on.

"It's Alzheimer's or whoever he's called, but granddad can't seem to remember much or even anything now, condition's worsening." The granddaughter's tears started to flow.

"Where's your dad and mum."

"Killed in a car crash, by a criminal." The girl immediately kept herself steely calm.

"Please come in but I hope he won't waste your time though."

"Fanny? Where's my granddaughter?" Gene could hear the voice of his old mentor, quivering but definitely sounded like he was a lucid man.

"Grandad Maurice, you have visitors here." Fanny closed the door before muttering that he only recognizes her of all people.

"Who will that be?"

"Gene Hunt, Metropolitan Police." Gene looked at Maurice Morrison, he looked incredibly old, his face wrinkled, his hair all white. He seemed completely unrecognizable from the chirpy drunk police officer in 1953.

"Gene…..Hunt….." Maurice Morrison was thinking very badly, and apparently he didn't seem to have a clue of the police officer.

"1953, Coronation Day." Gene decided to be explicit over this, as Fanny left the living room to get water for both him and Alex.

"I remember…. Sir….Murder…." The way Morrison struggled to remember what happened 30 years ago made Gene look even more vulnerable and filled with anguish.

"1966, Martha Caldwell." Alex decided to stop the conversation and asked for more details about the case.

"Martha Caldwell…."

"Oh For God's sake, he doesn't even remember my mum and dad, how can he remember things so long ago!" Fanny was getting more and more defensive over her grandfather, who was struggling to remember and remember.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, don't be afraid, Grandpa." Maurice Morrison trembled in slight fear, and seemed to be frightened over the visiting of Gene and Alex.

"Get….Away…" Maurice Morrison didn't seem to welcome Gene and Alex now, his eyes suddenly brightened. That moment, Gene knew that Maurice Morrison was beginning to remember, to remember…..

"GRANDPA!" Maurice Morrison collapsed shortly and Alex called the ambulance immediately. Gene meanwhile placed his hands on the pocket, and kept his head down, his hands clasped as if he was praying to God.

"Gene Hunt." Maurice Morrison was at his hospital bedroom, he looked like a dying man at his final last moments of life.

"Yes, Sir."

"Don't….call….me….that." Gene suddenly smirked, it was a time of mixed emotions.

"I'm….beginning….to….remember…why I'm here."

"I was shot, shot in 1990."

"I ended up seven years back, I had no memory of what happened, and I only know I had Alzheimer's according to my granddaughter..."

"You're in Purgatory, Sir."

"Purgatory….." There were signs that Morrison had suffered a huge stroke, that cost him his ability to speak and the signs were beginning to show up.

"I don't understand…." Alex was just about to interrupt the conversation.

"No, lady copper, I myself did lot of bad things in police blue….."

"Got myself drunk, got one of my coppers killed in corrie day, then came Martha Caldwell who I betrayed her name when I was drunk."

"She was…"

"Informant over both Caldwell and Stewart families."

"I betrayed his name while I was drunk." Morrison continued, tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Well everyone makes mistakes."

"Mine was Cardinal, Ma'am." Maurice Morrison was blunt and direct just as how he used to be.

"Martha had a child, didn't she?" Gene now preferred not to talk about past histories.

"She did, the name was….."

"What was his name?"

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_

Gene suddenly felt the same sensation of pain and horror coming in again, this time the sensation was stronger, the colour was now imminently a tone of red darkness.

"What was his name?" On the other hand, Maurice Morrison was about to end his life very soon, he was getting weaker and weaker by the second.

"De….rek…"

"Right! Bolls!" Gene snapped out of the horror and immediately got into action.

"What do you want now, Gene, we can't just leave him here!"

"Approve his ascent…" Alex didn't know what to do.

"Just say that Maurice Morrison will go to Coppers Heaven!" Gene snapped once again, he seemed to regret him haven't teaching Alex how to do it at all.

"Maurice Morrison, retired DCI, you shall leave this place and ascend to Heaven, that I Alex Drake approve." Maurice Morrison smiled, a glowing light was shining from nowhere, one could see the faint image of The Railway Arms again.

"Amen." Gene concluded as he bowed his head down, to the departure of yet another copper from the purgatory.

"Looks like we're back to some bloody psychiatry!"

"It's Psychology!"

"Same thing!" Both Gene and Alex could remember that somehow their first biggest meltdown between them had to do with this psychiatry or psychology.

Gene didn't have a flashback over this, that turned into a revolting nightmare. Every flashback with Alex didn't turn into something revolting, thank god for that, Gene would bloody say.

"Why are you so eager to have another session, Gene?"

"I need it, Bolls."

"You mean you are confident enough to do this?" Alex was seeking reassurance this time.

"Yes. I think I have an idea who's bloody behind this."

"So we're back to the next treatment, this time we're…."

"Going deep." Gene didn't need Alex to finish this sentence, and this time one could see him full of determination, and the resilience in that brave lion.

"We need to find out the problem, what's causing it, and I don't think Medicine will help."

"It's not a medical bloody problem is it?"

"Well actually it is, but as a Psychologist I could only prescribe sleeping pills and all such of stuff that you might get addicted."

"I'm no bloody drug arse, Bolls." Gene winced. Alex found it amusing, that Gene would pour a huge glass of wine, filled to the brim in fact and leave it intact

"Let's start, Bolls."

"Are you ready, Gene?" Alex suddenly had an ominous feeling, a feeling that sends shivers down her spine. It wasn't the sort of thing that she wanted.

"Ready, Bolls, Keep the Faith in me." This was going to be one Heaven of a ride.


	17. Chapter 17

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 17

**Author's Note: If I'm not wrong, my profile should state that I'm in a hiatus due to my GCSE-equivalent O Levels... I'm damn delighted to know that A2A did win the TV Choice Awards for Best Drama, managed to get myself out of the hiatus for a short while to write this new chapter, pretty short but explains who the heaven is behind the nightmares of Gene Hunt. This chapter can be seen as an ending for those who don't really like the two families, but I'm pretty sure that there is more to come...**

**Once again, Please Read and Review!**

"Imagine that you are now in a garden…." Alex's sexy voice resounded in Gene's ears as he slowly fell into a deep slumber.

Alex was now playing some strange classical song on the music player. Just like Gene, many of you readers will be asking what the hell is this bloody poofy song.

Gluck, Orfeo Ed Euridice, Dance Of The Blessed Spirits, that is.

One could tell the deep slumber was not faked, Gene was as peaceful as he would. As peaceful as a dead corpse, is how Gene would describe it.

"It's a hot sunny day, you're still wearing a coat, and you see bushes of roses and all sorts of flora.."

"I do see it, Bolly, bloody beauty it is…" Gene was muttering softly, though audible enough for Alex to hear.

"You see bushes of roses, and fruits, and there you see a glowing castle, right in front of you."

"Damn castles, the walls are white and gold." Gene continued to take in the beauty that Alex beautifully described.

"You enter this castle to seek the treasure…"

"The treasure of your heart and soul, to uncover the secrets behind that troubling ailment of yours…"

"You enter the gates of the castle, there you see…" Just as Gene thought Alex's beautiful narration will continue, he felt a slight sense of pain and horror.

"You see the walls of the castle are brightly lit…." Alex continued without interruption.

"No Bolls… the walls are dark, very dark…." Alex felt that something was now going wrong.

"The music… it's that bloody church organ…." Gene was now using his hand and taking out his pistol from the pocket, the pistol obviously did not exist but Alex knew that danger was lurking.

"What organ?"

"I don't know, it's some bloody Bach piece or something…" Gene's eyes remained wide shut.

"You continue to walk into the castle, you see a number of doors, you go in to the one you prefer…"

"Door No. 13." Gene's voice now sounded strange, it was a hissing voice.

"You open the door…" Alex knew that Gluck's soothing classical was still playing, and there was no organ in the music, she made sure of that.

"_What the bloody hell music this is, Dracula!"_ Gene barked back, but remained asleep physically.

"It isn't Dracula…"

"_OF COURSE IT ISN'T_." Gene's voice now changed drastically, it was no longer his voice, it sounded distinctly familiar.

"_What is it then? Jimbo."_ Alex realized that the person speaking to her was Jim Keats.

"_HUH, GENE IT'S TOCCATA AND FUGUE D MINOR, I THINK ALEX KNOWS HOW THIS SOUNDS LIKE…."_

"You're Jim…"

"_JIM, KEATS, ALEX, DO YOU REMEMBER ME?"_ Alex still couldn't take the shock that Jim Keats was still speaking through Gene's voice.

"_Nothing to fear Bolls, you'll be fine while I settle this business with bloody Jimbo Keats."_Alex could hear the strong determination Gene had, and this relieved much of the pressure and horror Alex had felt.

"_YOU THINK SO, DCI HUNT, YOU POOR LONELY SOUL…." _Jim Keat's voice was horrific, he sounded absolutely like the serpent in the bible. Silky but terrifying.

"_You broke the rules, Jimbo."_

"_I BREAK THE RULES, HAHAHAHA, THANK GOODNESS I'M STILL ALIVE EH."_

"You should have gone back to hell!" Alex screamed with fury.

"_IT'S MY HOME ANYWAY, DI DRAKE…"_

"It's DCI Drake."

"_AH, POOR OLD MAN ABOVE GOT A LADY TO HELP YOU, GENE, HOW DOES THAT FEEL…."_

"It feels great, at least I've got company!"

"_OH, HAHAHAHAHAHA…."_ Jim Keats was still laughing coldly

"_You played Mind Games, and you broke the rules, Jimbo."_

"_SMALL PRICE TO PAY IN ORDER TO GET YOUR SOULS…."_

"_I WAS JUST ABOUT TO MAKE YOU GIVE UP, AND THEN I WILL APPEAR…. BUT THIS BLOODY WOMAN HERE SPOILT THE FUN….."_

"Well at least I stopped the Devil, and that's great fun!" Jim's sharp accusation was stinging but Alex fired back immediately.

"_Jimbo, not bloody reincarnating to another form?"_

"_IT WAS YOUR FAULT!" _

"Why is it his fault!" Alex sat down and asked, with a tone of insincere mockery.

"_HE TOOK AWAY FOUR SOULS…..FOUR SOULS AT ONCE, I HAVE NEVER EVER SUFFERED SUCH A DEFEAT!"_

"You survived it anyway, so why are you here!"

"_YES… I SURVIVED IT BUT I HAVE NO POWER, NO SOULS TO RECHARGE MYSELF, I KNOW THAT I ONLY HAVE ONE….OPTION!"_

"_That option is to get into my mind and create bloody havoc…."_

"_INEVITABLE, I MUST REGRET…"_

"_We do have a deal when it comes to War and that deal was never to…"_

"_ENTER THE MINDS OF ANOTHER AND CAUSE DEFEAT AS SUCH… I KNOW RULE NO.2"_

"You mean you have rules!" Alex felt she was interrogating the devil herself.

"_Rules were made long time ago, Bolls, even the devil has honour, mind you!"_

"_YES! THAT I AGREE WITH ."_

"Why did you still do it!" Alex asked incredulously.

"_HEHEHEHE, IF YOU ARE LOSING, WHY CAN'T YOU CHEAT TO WIN?"_

"_You know that if you do so, you would risk a long time being at nowhere?"_

"Nowhere?"

"_Where he is of no existence, Bolls, and that there will be someone taking over him while he's trapped between heaven, purgatory and hell, with nowhere to go."_

"_NOWHERE! YOU MUST BE JOKING, ! YOU KNOW WHAT I HAVE DECIDED….."_

"_SINCE YOU ARE HERE NOW THAT I SHOULD DELIVER THE KILLER BLOW…."_

"_and take over my bloody mind, in your dreams, Jimbo."_

"_THAT'S RIGHT, DCI HUNT IN __YOUR__ DREAMS. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH" _ Jim continued laughing wildly as if he had achieved victory.

"_Bolly, stay out of this!"_

"No, I shall be with you Gene, that is how I intend things to be done….together!"

"_TOGETHER! WELL DONE! DI DRAKE, TIME TO DESTROY TWO GUARDIANS AT ONCE."_ Alex saw her room remain the same except now she could see in the television, the dark castles, Gene and Jim facing each other.

"_What the bloody hell!"_

"Gene!" Alex tried to enter the dark castle but she was blocked, in fact there was an invisible wall that she could not enter.

"_I THINK THE BEST WAY IS TO LET YOU SEE YOUR LUVA BEING KILLED, DCI DRAKE…."_

"_Big mistake, Bolls." _

"No it isn't."

"AHA, OF COURSE IT ISN'T, IT IS TIME FOR ME TO DESTROY AND TAKE OVER YOUR MIND, AND BODY, HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Gene, don't let him do it."

"_I know that, Bolls, don't be afraid, keep the bloody faith!"_

Alex could now see Jim with his serpent voice and glaring eyes, produces a huge red ball of fire, a ball of fire that was thrown to Gene.

"_Not so fast, Jimbo!"_ Gene created a bolt of angelic white and blue, this was turning out to be watching Harry Potter come alive again!

The two bolts of flame collided with each other, causing a huge explosion that not only rattled the castle but actually rattled the whole Guardian's house, as if it was an earthquake.

"_TIME TO SAY GOODBYE, GENE, YOU WILL GO NOWHERELAND, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!"_

Gene immediately had a strange vision, it was the vision of him entering that crooked house that fateful day, charging like a reckless Jim Cooper in High noon, then he heard gunshots.

"_BANG! BANG! BANG!"_

"_" _Jim Keats' laughter continued, as Alex began to see Gene suffer all the hallucinations that had happened to him and was beginning to give up.

"Don't you ever give up, GENE!" Alex screamed once again, hoping that Gene will get the message through.

It was a huge conflict in his mind now, Alex's voices of encouragement contradicted by the bad memories of his death, and the hysterical laughter of that bloody Jim Keats, Gene could feel the castle walls getting colder and colder, a bad sign.

"_R…..IGHT!" _Gene would awaken himself from the conflict, and saw that the blue bolt was weakening and the red devilish fire was about to penetrate through his body.

"_Bolly! Get the wine out!" Gene barked out as Alex immediately grabbed her hand towards the wine._

"_YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE SECONDS LEFT…." _

"_FIVE…."_

"_FOUR!"_

"_Pour the wine on top of my head now…."_

"_THREE!"_

"_TWO!"_

"_ONE….."_

"_ZERO!"_

Alex splashed the wine on top of Gene's head just in time and immediately the walls felt warmer for Gene and the red bolt disappeared and vanished.

"_WHAT!"_

"_The Wine, Jimbo, the holy wine…." _Gene's expression was one of smiles, one that was victorious of course.

"_YOU! YOU!"_

"_The Wine is poisoning your system, Jimbo, now you shall go to Nowhereland, Tah Tah!" _Gene using his might and fury kicked Jim's heart so painfully that Jim could only collapse and vanish into thin air.

The lights were back on, and the room was back to normal and Gene regained consciousness at once.

"Gene!"

"Bolls!" Both of them embraced and kissed each other as they ended the turmoil in Gene's mind.

"Thank you, Bolly."

"I think there is no need for any more hypnosis sessions I believe."

"No need, he is gone, someone will be there to replace him but it will take years for that to bloody happen."

"Let's celebrate now, shall we." Gene stopped the Gluck piece from playing and replaced it with surprise, surprise The Police.

"Yes, but in my terms…." Alex smiled broadly.

"Why is it The Police anyway?"

"There's a song that I think fits you…."

"A Dance?" Alex asked, she didn't recognize which The Police song it was nice to dance to, but both of them knew they were in the mood of dancing.

The piece was now playing at the start, but somehow immediately the refrain immediately scored the right points.

"_Every little thing she does is magic! _

_Every thing she does just turns me on!_

_Even though my life before was tragic._

_Now I know my love for her goes on…"_


	18. Chapter 18

A2A A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 18

**Author's Note: After a long absence, I'm finally back since my GCEs are now over, this is the 18****th**** Chapter of A Tale Of Two Families, for those who just starting to read this, you may wish to read from Chapter 1 onwards, it's a long story I suppose. Please Read and Review! Thanks!**

"Wakey Wakey Drakey, Rise and bloody shine!" Gene was having slight trouble waking up Alex.

It had been an emotionally draining and physically tormenting time for both Alex and Gene. They all knew that they would have wanted a day's leave of work. But they are guardians and somehow they have to be there everytime, and in fact everywhere if necessary for their souls.

"Why can't I have just one day's worth of rest." Alex was grumbling and Gene recognized that fact that she does once she struggles to get herself out of the bed.

"Some saint called Paul said that if you didn't work, you shall not bloody eat." Gene snarkily pointed out.

"Right, didn't you know that I only had 4 hours of sleep."

"Yeah drinking the power and tasting the bloody glory, now get yourself in makeup and let's mush!" Alex was somewhat surprised that Gene had prepared Breakfast for both of them.

"Got your clothes on, Bolls, it's going to be bloody eight!"

"Why don't you have a bit of patience, Gene!"

"Why don't you wake up bloody earlier, Drake!" Gene retorted.

"Done?" Gene looked at Alex again, apparently it was the same white jacket and a different set of clothing, similar to the ones bought at the luxury boutiques.

"You should change that white jacket…." Gene continued to grumble on as Alex took her breakfast in the car…

"Why?"

"Because it's beginning to stink of rum and champagne!"

"Add that to the dry cleaning bill, would you!" Alex mocked Gene's mancunian accent to great perfection, as Gene managed a slight grin at that.

"You are just like my wife, Bolly!" 

"I AM your wife." Alex proudly declared, much to Gene's disgust.

"Partner." Gene decided to correct the term feeling somewhat uneasy.

"Roommate." Alex did it one further step.

"Partner at Home plus Roommate plus Whore in the bedroom = Wife." Alex's equation made little sense to Gene though Gene obviously got the picture.

"What breakfast did you make in the box anyway?" Alex was beginning to be curious of it.

"You see that's the problem with you Bolls, you ask too much…"

"Questions." Alex finished the sentence for Gene.

"You shouldn't be asking too many of them Bolls, you're a Guardian and you should know the answers." Gene suddenly turned very serious.

"Well I don't know all of them yet."

"I'll show you the bloody ropes now that I'm mentally bloody clear."

"How long do we need to take to solve this case?"

"Depends, but it has to be solved, if it isn't, things will go wrong."

"As wrong as Last Night?"

"Yes, and Bolly I want you to speak no bloody word of it, we are in purgatory now, you got it, Bolls!"

"Yes." Alex flashed that chirpy and confident grin again and the Red Mercedes was now parked in the parking lots outside the station.

"Anyway that breakfast is some sandwich with chocolate bars stuck into it." Alex knew that Gene for all the chauvinistic pig he is, prepares simple breakfasts like this.

"A child's dream, isn't it! Chocolate Sandwiches."

"Yes, maybe if you would stop babbling and get eating."

"Why…." Alex tried to fire back but obviously she couldn't muster the words she wanted.

"Yes, and get yourself ready for another bloody day at Fenchurch East."

"What do we have here now?" Gene apparently had difficulty remembering what happened yesterday after the events of that night.

"We know from DCI Morrison's admission that Martha Caldwell had been a police informant, and that she was killed because of that by the Stewarts."

"The name was Derek Caldwell, according to DCI Morrison before he died."

"Could he have been unclear about that?" Drew asked, he was well aware that he had to fight over his inheritance just because one bloody unclear word his late father muttered.

"He was well clear of that."

"There was this Chinese saying, that dying men tell no lies…." Alex quips while the rest of the team look as if they have no clue of what she was talking about.

"You read bloody Mao, Bolls?"

"No!" Alex looked at Gene as if he was from a different planet again, although she was well aware Gene had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well Dying men tell no lies, dead men tell no stories., sounds like a good saying for the future!" Gene declares…

"Unless you're in Coronation Street." Katherine added on.

"Yes, Ena Sharples, now get your grandmother's arse here and let's get cracking."

"Guv! Kendall Stewart, he's dead." Benito was apparently stuttering his way as he painfully revealed the bad news.

"What!" The whole gang were in disbelief as they got Benito's news.

"He's dead, committed suicide."

"Suicide, how?"

"From a fruit knife, most likely one made of shaver blades, slit his own wrist at night, found at morning dead bleeding cold." Benito was simplistic when it comes to describing death.

"Well his suicide is pretty painful, isn't it." Gene shrugged while Drew began to whistle the chorus of Suicide Is Painless.

"Foul Play?"

"Nope, Prisons have said that there's no foul play involved, he's in a lone cell apparently, and the guards didn't notice until blood started to spill over and when he shut up."

"Well he's dead." Gene looked at Alex once again.

"Isn't it strange that he's dead when there are so many deaths in both Stewart and Caldwell families?" Alex's classic bowel movement returned just as Gene totally expected it.

"I'd bet we're reading bloody Shakespeare here eh!"

"Greek." Drew corrected Gene in how bloody the drama could get.

"Right, now we know that Derek Caldwell is actually Martha's son, let's get the truth from the Caldwells…"

"What do you want!" Harry Caldwell was feeling undoubtedly pissed, he has never received so many visits from the police for a very long time.

"We like to speak to you, over Martha Caldwell…"

"She's been dead for so long, why rake up the past."

"Coz the past is worth bloody mentioning!" Gene retorts back as both he and Alex went into the Caldwells house.

"What is it regarding about Martha?"

"We know that she has a son?"

"A Son!" Harry was shocked to hear of that, though Alex knew he was faking it somehow.

"Yes, she had a son!"

"I don't know anything about this, Miss Drake, have you…"

"She ain't as nuts as Kendall Stewart…" Gene completed the sentence.

"Right…..Let's get this straight, Martha did not have a son, and I don't know what you want to blabber about her unfortunate death caused by one of those Stewart CREEPS, but I want you two out of my HOUSE NOW!" Harry turned from feign shock to real anger as he stomped the floor and shouted at the top of his voice.

"Well with all bloody DISrespect, Harry, I think you might have KILLED YOUR OWN DAUGHTER!" Gene didn't like to be shouted at and retaliated immediately with huge gusto.

"MY DAUGHTER! You….." Harry raged on with Gene over the argument while Alex opened the door, the Caldwells were not there to serve as bodyguards, and were well asleep.

Much to the Caldwell's surprise, the uniformed police officers stormed in and arrested Harry, his son William, his daughter-in-law Jenna.

"This has got to be some bloody mistake!" William shouted as he was taken away by the policemen.

"Get the LAWYER, DAMN IT!" Harry shouted, his face was well punched red.

"Harry Caldwell, you are here to assist the investigations to the murder of Martha Caldwell, aka your poor bloody daughter which got herself stabbed."

"You know, I would have thought I was under arrest…" Harry was now cooling himself down and now getting snarky.

"In theory, you are under arrest to assist us in our investigations…." Alex corrected him.

"What if…I refuse." Harry flashed a "You can't beat me in this, bitch." Smile.

"Well if you refuse, you will end up being in jail, for the rest of your life I presume, coz I think you're going to die in a month's time…"

"Maybe you could live another 25 years longer, by then I think you would one of those very old men sitting in a wheelchair in your prison cell, WANTING to die instead of just simply waiting…"

Harry Caldwell hated people cursing him dead, and Alex's nasty retort turned that wicked smile to a grudgingly uncomfortable smirk.

"We have birth records and evidence that states that your daughter Martha had a child…" Gene continued rambling on as he threw the file on the table.

"Martha, Pregnant?" Harry smirked again.

"Was she?" Alex had little patience for old crooks, they reminded her of those politicians hovering around then Scotland Yard lying to the press everyday.

"She wasn't, Miss Drake, She wasn't!"

Gene decided that he too didn't want to waste his time and slammed poor old Harry's head on the table while Alex once again showed her slight disgust.

"Stop playing a fool with us, old Dirty Harry or I will bring you a judge that will sentence you to thirty bloody years for bloody Murder!"

"Guv…"

"Where the hell's my lawyer!"

"Hi! I am Mr. Scarlatti, the solicitors for the Caldwell family."

"Mr. Scarlatti, you defending the Caldwells?" Drew was at the office as he scanned the business card.

"Yes, I'd like to know where my client Harry Caldwell is being held?"

"Oh Mr. Scarlatti, you look pretty young for a lawyer, do you?" Phyllis was sniping at the poor young lawyer who seemed a rookie.

"Yes, this is a case referred to me by my dad…. Gone to the heavens now, so I'm taking over…"

"You sure you want to take over?" Drew shot a weary eye.

"Why not?'

"He's not going to pay for you, that's for sure?" Katherine pointed out.

"What! I mean I thought…"

"Mr. Scarlatti, I think you should know that the Caldwells are pretty poor and most likely they're not going to pay you, after all one or even two murder cases, plus three kidnapping charges…" Drew tried to be gamely expert on the charges though he himself doesn't know much about the law in 1983.

"Oh, you sure about that?" seemed heavily unsure.

"Of course, I've been in this police station for years, and that Harry Caldwell doesn't pay his lawyers…"

"But my father…"

"He paid him through the money they stole, but this time they ain't got any."

"Well…." Mr. Scarlatti seemed very convinced not to defend this client, but who could blame him for doing so, after all he was a rookie.

"Maybe I should refer them to Legal Aid then…" Mr. Scarlatti left, feeling frustrated especially the fact that he had wasted time looking like a idiot defending a greater number of idiots who supposedly couldn't pay him.

"How'd you know he will not defend the Caldwells?" Benito was still amazed by the con plotted by the gang.

"That Rolex watch, it's fake. His suit at least twenty years old.."

"God wonders how the Guv knew about it and asked us to play along?"

"I don't know maybe he's some psychic up there, who knows?" Drew replied as Kat sulkily got back to work.

"Did you know that Martha Caldwell was pregnant!"

"She wasn't pregnant, and I can swear that using…" Harry was still recovering from the pain Harry slammed on the table.

"You can't because you're lying." Alex decided to take the initiative and fired the first shot.

"I'm not."

"Yes you were, apparently according to records Derek Caldwell is the son of Martha Caldwell."

"Rubbish, utter rubbish, where the hell is my lawyer!" Gene decided to get out of the room, Alex seeing that that was a sign of temporary retreat left the room.

"Derek's definitely my son, no mistake about that!" William Caldwell on the other room, was busily and passionately defending himself against Drew and Katherine.

Jenna Caldwell was on the other hand sobbing as Gene and Alex entered the room while Benito basically just stared at her.

"What've you got?" Gene asked Benito.

"Nothing, I just stared at her and she just cried…" Gene and Alex's eyes opened widely with the "What the hell" look.

"Looks like we've got bloody nothing for one bloody hour! Good Cop, Bad Cop, Both Good Both Bad…."

"It takes time, Gene, witnesses don't crack unless…"

"We've got something that allows them to, Nutcracker theory." Drew knew of the theory of a nutcracker, used in police force interrogation 101 books for at least a decade or so.

"What the bloody theory is that…"

"One Word, nutcracker, crack." Drew decided to make the theory into a short simple sentence and demonstration of a motion of a nutcracker.

"Right! Psychiatry…"

"Psychology!"

"Same thing!" Gene scoffed once again, as Alex continued rambling.

"I think we should arrest Roy Stewart too…"

"Why?"

"Because his brother Kendall murdered Martha, he could have been the father of Martha Caldwell…."

"He killed her in order to…"

"Morrison said that they were good friends but…."

"I think we've got another key to the puzzle now…."

"Guv!" Phyllis marched in with a strong sense of urgency.

"What's happened, Phyllis?"

"Norma Caldwell, and Roy Stewart, they're both been kidnapped…"

"And?" Alex knew Phyllis hasn't finished while the rest of the gang looked completely bewildered.

"Charles Caldwell, he's been murdered."


	19. Chapter 19

A Tale Of Two Families Chapter 19

Author's Note: This is another Update of this long story, for those who are not familiar with the premise, I suggest you read from the beginning. Please Read and Review! Am pretty Desperate for Reviews, it's been a drought for the previous chapter and I'm hopeful it's not going to be one for this one.

"What the bloody hell!" Gene was just about to begin one of his usual tirades against the crowd when the gang walked their way into the Caldwell Home.

"He was stabbed a few times, at the playground."

"Any witnesses?" Alex enquired as she looked at the gruesome way Charlie the innocent was killed.

"Most of the kids were in school, no witnesses as far as we know."

"Who called?" Drew also got himself into the action now.

"Some unknown fellow, called the police, said there was a stabbing taking place at Church Street here."

"Did he leave a name?"

"According to Phyllis, No." Alex replied as Gene looked around the playground as if he was surveying for any suspects.

"I don't understand…." Katherine seemed to have been lost for words.

"Why that he's dead?" Benito was asking the obvious.

"He's just a young boy…" Katherine now nearly broke into tears.

"It could be the Stewarts…."

"You're telling me it's one of them…" Gene seemed slightly pissed as he looked at Drew.

"Who knows, you kill a Stewart, I kill a Caldwell."

"There's something wrong here…." Alex motioned the crew to walk back to the red Merc, as the body was moved to the mortuary.

"Bolls, where we're going?"

"To tell the family, that they've lost one of their children…."

"The lawyer would have told them, stay here."

"What we're going to do now, Guv?" Katherine looked pretty unsure.

"Trace the blood path." Gene realised that Crime Scene still had some pretty obvious spots of blood.

"I don't believe it, where did our crime scene people go?"

"On Strike."

"Why are they on strike?"

"Because they think that they're so great in the bloody union shit that they think that the Super is the Great Handbag with a knife stuck through her throat." Gene's horrific metaphor was a great way of shutting Drew's mouth up.

"So according to this blood path shit." Gene grabbed the label tags those CSI left.

They continued to trace for a very very long time, and as the crew followed the blood trail, they realised the boy had ran a long long way after being stabbed.

The blood path continued for a few more streets…

"Where the hell did the boy get stabbed?" Drew was losing patience, and so was everyone else.

"The Caldwells." Gene and the rest of the gang looked again, they saw the blood trail's beginning, it was the currently red door of the Caldwells (It was originally white)

"This doesn't make sense, we just had old grandpa Caldwell arrested here and then now we have another murder out of the Caldwells…" Drew was equally shocked and tired as everyone were.

"Seems like it's turning out to be a very blatant massacre of two families."

"It's our duty to stop that." Gene silently concluded.

"Charlie Caldwell, was killed when Harry and the old bloody chum were sitting here in Fenchurch."

"Which leaves us with?"

"Nothing…." Katherine's stupid comment would have attracted a cannon blaze from Gene but he simply ignored her.

"I am here to get the Caldwells released…."

"Oh Look, a bloody lawyer!" Gene raised his voice, at least there's his chance of getting a good situation out of a nightmare. Apparently it was the lawyer referred from Legal Aid.

"On what circumstances?" Alex fired back, she knew that Gene would have shot something else, but decided she would have the first shot.

"The fact that my clients' child has been killed, I do believe that you as police officers should release him."

"On the contrary, Mr. I-don't-know-who-the-bloody-hell-you-are lawyer…"

"Mr. Cameron." The sheepish bespectacled lawyer added on.

"Mr. Future bloody Prime Minister!" Drew continued.

"He's part of our murder investigation." Alex made it even more sharper to the point.

"What!"

"You guys are absolutely stupid or you have lost your mind, the victim is my client's grandchild, you suspect him to be killed by them when he was in your custody."

"Nope."

"Then who the hell do you think you are, Special Branch!"

"It has come to my attention, that we the lads of Fenchurch East are being called Special Branch!"

"As good as you being called the Prime Minister, Guv." Drew's snarky comment didn't go well with the Guv.

"Yes Danny Boy, why don't you go serve some coffee to the poor Caldwells, if they don't think we're sympathetic to the fact that THEY are part of a murder investigation to the MURDER of Nick Stewart…

"And James Caldwell…" Drew silently muttered.

"Danny Boy!" Drew looked at Gene again, so does Alex.

"Tea! GO!"

"Well I'm not the tea lady…" Drew started to feel a bit uneasy.

"He said Go." Alex reiterated the order just as Drew turned to her for help.

"Go."

"GO!"

"GO!" Gene and Alex's common shout does make the both of them feel awkward once again.

"So I can't get Mr. Caldwell out?"

"Unfortunately, with all due DISrespect, Sir, Nope!" Gene's bold comment to the poor thin lawyer was a sign of the return of the Manc Lion.

"I shall file a complaint!"

"Complaints don't work in this Department, Mr. Cameron, go look for the Home Secretary, most likely he's in a helicopter spinning around the Great Handbag with Heseltine!" _(Leon Brittan and the Westland Affair)_

"Let's see how does with you, you do fear him, do you!" The lawyer decided to make one last attempt to fight back.

"I do not fear anyone, Mr. Cameron, especially those who defend the scum of the earth!"

Mr. Cameron knowing how stupid he looked, left while the rest of the gang applauded for Gene over yet another stellar display of valor.

"Right, let's get this case solved, before Home Secretary decides to snoop around here." Gene's sudden change of tone meant everyone has to get back to business.

"Gene, I think we're missing some parts of the case." Alex was back to her clever deductions.

"What parts?" Benito was also back on the job.

"We haven't questioned the young."

"You think that the young might be involved in this?"

"I do think so, Look, we've caught the adults and then we have a murderer."

"Why can't it be another Stewart or could it be one of their assistants or something?"

"Both families are families of thieves, not murderers…"

"Guv!" It was Phyllis with another file at hand.

"Here is a record of the visitors of Kendall Stewart cell after your visit…"

"Chris, Benito! Go check the visitors log…. See if there's anyone suspicious in the log."

"Meanwhile let's pay a visit back to the interrogation room and see Harry Caldwell again."

INTERROGATION ROOM, FENCHURCH EAST

The interrogation room was filled with a scottish air of sorrow as Harry Caldwell the old grumpy thief was struggling to get to terms with yet another murder in his family.

"Feeling Happy eh, Harry!" Gene was being the most insensitive bastard as Alex sat on the Chair while he simply sat on the desk.

"You copper bastard…" Harry was sobbing, and it was true that he was crying throughout the time he was in the interrogation room. Two tissue boxes emptied.

"Mr. Caldwell, where were you at…."

"AT THE INTERROGATION ROOM IN BLOODY FENCHURCH EAST!" Harry shouted with his full might.

"THE LADY HERE IS TALKING, DON'T YOU DARE BE BLOODY RUDE TO A OFFICER WHEN SHE SPEAKS!" Gene retaliated with a fiery shout.

"Mr. Caldwell, you didn't hear my question clearly, I was about to ask you about where you were at October 24th, 1983.

"I was at home."

"Home, what a great alibi." Gene whistled.

"I'M SPEAKING THE TRUTH!" Harry asserted as grief seems to have taken over him.

"We know that your grandson is dead, and we're sorry for your loss…."

"You are…." Harry's tone was not of gratitude but more of wicked sarcasm with few notches of grief and mourning toppled all over it.

"But you have to tell us the truth regarding Martha Caldwell?"

"What about her?" Gene and Alex's good cop bad cop routine was mashed up to the point that Harry was even more emotionally confused that before

"Was she the mother of Derek or Norma Caldwell instead of Jenna?"

"I…."

"We have an eyewitness who can testify in court that Martha Caldwell was pregnant at the time of her murder."

"Was she the mother of Derek and, or Norma?"

"Was she, Harry?"

"Answer…" Gene was about to push the man's pitiful head down the table.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Alex slammed the table, her good cop immediately turned into a bad cop as her fury instantaneously freaked out Harry.

"She…was indeed the mother of one of our children?"

"Was it Norma?"

"It was Derek, Derek was Martha's child with another person."

"Who?"

"Dunno, obviously not one of us Caldwells, if not he would be just like a thief."

"Does he know about this?"

"No…"

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Were you involved with the death of Martha Caldwell?"

"You're accusing me of killing my own daughter!"

"According to records, she's a police informant..."

"Martha, No!" Harry began to break down once again.

"According to the Police Case Officer, you and the Stewarts planned to kill her…." Harry contined crying, his head was down, the world seems to be tearing all apart now.

"Gene and Alex decided to leave the room.

"It wasn't my plan at first." Harry calmed himself down.

"We knew that Martha was an informant when there was this drunk copper who shouted her name out. Roy…"

"You mean Roy Stewart?"

"Yes, my old ally…" Harry was speaking the truth with sobs and quivering interrupting his speech to a great extent..

"I at first didn't believe in Roy until I went to the bar heard the guy say the same thing again."

"You didn't want Martha to…." Alex continued questioning while Gene just stood silently.

"I didn't want her to ruin my career, I have a family, a BIG family to keep…."

"Family planning didn't work, huh?" Gene mocked the poor fellow.

"So you…"

"I and Roy agreed that for the future of our families, we will kill her…."

"That's enough!"

"Harry Caldwell, you're under arrest for the murder of Martha Caldwell, you have the right to remain bloody silent, but whatever that is said through your bloody dead mouth will be used against you in my bloody good court!" Gene immediately placed his handcuffs on Harry's and whisked him into the prison cell.

"You think he's involved with this?" Harry struggled and looked at both of them, they gave the same "Who knows?" expression but the fear of knowing the truth suddenly struck him as he collapsed once again.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" Alex bolted out of the door and signalled Kat to rush to the phones.


End file.
